


Coming Through - Arc 1: Saving Keith

by outtahere



Series: Coming Through [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Feels, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, No Smut, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Sexual Slavery, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Slow Burn Keith/Lance (Voltron), klance, no beta we die like men, past allurance, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29512326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outtahere/pseuds/outtahere
Summary: After the lions had departed from Altea a little over a year ago, Lance didn’t expect to ever see them again. He missed the constant buzz of energy that indicated Red was somewhere near, or the quiet whirlpool of Blue’s purr coming from the hangars on the Castle of Lions or even the Atlas. It seemed so short yet so long ago when he travelled through the vastness of space as a part of Voltron.Or the one where after DreamWorks left Lance on Earth to be a farmer, and Keith is the leader of the Blade of Marmora, Lance is forced to board the Red Lion once again and go through the vastness of space to retrieve Keith from the hands of intergalactic pirates.
Relationships: Acxa/Veronica (Voltron), Allura/Lance (Voltron), Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Coming Through [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2167974
Comments: 9
Kudos: 48





	Coming Through - Arc 1: Saving Keith

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is like my second piece of fanfiction so far, and I really should be working on the first, yet unfinished one, but procrastination got a hold of me. I binged entire VLD in less than a week and then wrote this thing over the next week instead of studying for finals. I should be sorry but I'm not.
> 
> Anyway, this work is part one of the Coming Through series I'll be posting on here, and I thought about dividing it into chapters but it didn-t feel right - it interrupted the flow of the story imo.

After the lions had departed from Altea a little over a year ago, Lance didn’t expect to ever see them again. He missed the constant buzz of energy that indicated Red was somewhere near, or the quiet whirlpool of Blue’s purr coming from the hangars on the Castle of Lions or even the Atlas. It seemed so short yet so long ago when he travelled through the vastness of space as a part of Voltron.

When he focused hard enough, looked through his memory in search of the connection he used to share first with Blue, then Red, Lance could almost feel it again. Well, frankly speaking, his connection with Blue had never truly disappeared when he became the Red Paladin. It was always there, in the very back of his head. He always wondered if it were because of Blue’s sentiment or the love he felt for Allura.

Allura. Unconsciously Lance brushed his fingers across the marks now gracing his cheekbones. The tingle of energy made him smile. She would always be with him. He still missed her laugh, or the way she would say his name, or her white hair glowing like silver in the moonlight, or her warm-toned skin still pale against the fire of her heart. He missed her presence and her words of encouragement, the way she just was with them. So brave and so pure.

Lance pulled himself out of his thoughts. It has never done him good: dwelling on the past. Always brought him into a dark place, reminiscent of the void around Honerva’s mind.

He looked around, taking in the beauty of the little piece of the universe he could call his own. His farm was nice, he’s lived here all his life, but it especially came alive with Kaltenecker around and juniper berries growing on the lawn. But his family was what he treasured the most in the universe. They had never given up on him or his interests, or choices for that matter.

His mother had noticed, he knew, that being a simple farmer was not the fate he was meant to follow. Not that there was anything wrong with being a farmer, of course. But she never said a word, and he’s overheard her scold Veronica for thinking about bringing up being a pilot to him.

He couldn’t help but be grateful, he thought sitting on the porch. He would never be a pilot again, not without the team, not without the lions, not without Allura.

His heart had been shattered back in the source of all realities, and he just did not have the guts anymore. Thankfully, he wasn’t needed as a pilot. He was just Lance again. The same Lance with his loud laugh and ever-expanding ego, and the best uncle ever to his sister’s kids. To everyone he was once again the Lance from before he had left the Earth in a magical Lion almost eight years ago after breaking Shiro out from the Garrison. With Keith, and Pidge, and Hunk.

 _A team_ , Lance thought.

A team that needed him no more.

Hunk had found a way to unite people via taste buds: expertly mixing spices and herbs and other products from all the planets he was supposed to make friends with or help them make amends with each other. It was harder to argue with a mouth full of delicious food, and easier to settle any conflicts on a content stomach. Lance loved the idea, and even more loved the samples Hunk kept sending over every month for his family to try. He was currently in the far corners of the known cosmos, close to uncharted territory, on a mission to mediate between two alien species arguing about resources. He was also constantly scanning for the Olkari, Hunk had confessed. He wanted to make Pidge happy, though Lance doubted that she knew he was doing that.

Pidge had her own world of discovery, her technology advancing worlds by eons. She managed to create robots and automobiles worthy of intergalactic Nobel prizes if such had existed. She hadn’t managed one thing yet, though, and that frustrated her to no end: she never found where the Olkari had fled. She’d found and deciphered their data, or at least what they had managed to upload before the attack. There was nothing there to indicate their location. No breadcrumbs to follow. At least that was what she told Lance the last time they spoke, which was a few weeks if not months ago.

Shiro was... out of reach. He had moved far away to another continent to escape the Galaxy Garrison begging him to teach classes. His husband had complied, and as far as Lance knew Curtis took on teaching in a local middle-of-nowhere space school, but otherwise they were an enigma. They have isolated themselves from the post-war struggle, and Lance couldn’t blame them. He had done the very same thing. In that sense, Shiro was the closest to him. They didn’t have to brave through anything anymore and could focus on a simple life with their loved ones.

That left Keith to wonder about. Best for last, huh? Lance couldn’t help but snicker to himself, rocking back and forth on the chair that had been gracing his porch for longer than he’d been around.

It wasn’t the first time Keith had isolated himself from the group. As far as Lance knew he was busy running the Blade of Marmora to the the brink of exhaustion with all the relief missions he lead or ordered in every corner, nook, and crease of the universe. Hunk had seen him once or twice, and Pidge kept his systems up to date, but Lance went off by the rare slivers of information the two other paladins would let slip through. He really was like, the future. Lance couldn’t help but think so despite the bitter sense of betrayal lingering in his chest. Keith could at least contact him once in a while, not leave all the searching to Lance.

Because Lance had tried many times.

Most often he would manage a secure connection with a base on the other side of the universe only to hear that Keith had left the day or even a few hours before with no known destination. And the search would begin all over again from the beginning had Lance not gotten tired of pointless searching. If Keith didn’t want to be reached, Lance would not impose anymore. Anyway, the mullet had told him many a times how annoying he had found him, and that despite being a good team there was no friendship between them, so maybe Lance should take the hint.

Lance really needed to get back in before his mother would come down and smack him into oblivion. But the night was so bright and beautiful with the full moon and the smell of juniper berries. It would’ve been perfect had Allura been by his side like she has for the whole time on Voltron (even if not as his girlfriend for most of the time, she had been there to lead, and love, and motivate them). Had anyone been by his side right now.

Was he space-sick on Earth, at home? Yes, just as he’d been homesick on Voltron. There wasn’t really anything to soothe his aching heart, was there.

Lance managed to push the intrusive thoughts deep into the back of his mind and actually enjoy the peaceful life he had on Earth. Hell, even his dream of popularity had been fulfilled, girls and boys alike swinging themselves into his arms at any social function the garrison forced him to attend.

He suspected that the Garrison staff were the only people his mother had told about his well-hidden depression. Lance couldn’t say he didn’t appreciate the effort. He couldn’t also say that he didn’t take the presented opportunities in the form of short flings and expensive dates he could now afford to bring his lovers on.

And almost another half a year had passed before the thoughts resurfaced again, waking him in the odd hours of the night for a week straight - more persistent than they had ever been before.

So, it was the seventh night he’d found himself on the porch, sitting in the half shadows cast by the moon gracing a clear sky.

There was a buzz in the back of his brain, familiar yet so strange, awakening more memories to haunt him. It left him restless, seemingly more on edge than he had been. His happy-go-lucky facade faded like the light of a flashlight meeting the void. Void.

 _Void_. The sensation engulfed him and Lance greeted it like an old friend before he gave it any conscious thought.

_Void. Nothingness, numbness...? No._

_Void. Voltron. Voltron?_ Lance would’ve squeezed his eyes in disbelief hadn’t they been already tightened under his furrowed brow in deep concentration.

 _Void_. The buzzing in his brain grew familiar, the sound resonating in his scull until it morphed into purring.

_Void. Voltron. Purring. Impossible!_

Lance jumped from his seat and darted towards the field. His thumping heart threatened to break out of his chest, feet almost tangling in his sleep-deprived, almost panicked haste.

Lance stopped in the middle of the flat plane behind his house. He directed his eyes at the sky, not knowing where to look or what to expect. The silence around him seemed more deafening than the buzzing in his brain.

He must’ve made some noise, because the lights in the house lit up and soon his mother and Veronica joined him on the field. Lance knew they were both dressed in their cozy floral-print dressing gowns that still made Lance’s teeth hurt, and fur slippers; his eyes never left the sky. He felt their concerned to the point of irritated stares, eyes barely open from sleep and yet angry.

“Seriously, Lance, you woke us up in the middle of the night...” Veronica spoke. “What the hell is going on?”

“The buzzing is here again,” Lance answered without as much as blinking. He couldn’t miss the lion, even if it was just passing by.

“Lance, you told us yourself,” his mother put her hand on his shoulder, “the Lions of Voltron are gone.”

“I know, but this is unmistakable!”

“Get back to bed, Lance, or the Garrison will put you on observation.” Veronica’s voice was harsh.

“I, I- Look!” Lance jumped in the air, his finger pointing towards the sky. They followed it anyway, even if only to humour him. But there was something there.

A dot, first white, then becoming more and more red, was growing with each second on the clear sky. It seemed directed towards them, and Veronica darted to the house to get her gun.

The dot came closer and closer, the red hue making Lance’s heart flutter and his stomach tighten into a knot. Veronica came back, her stance almost aggressive as they anticipated the ship’s landing.

 _Any second now_ , the familiar silhouette on the sky was clearly distinguishable as the one and only Red Lion of Voltron. Lance started running towards it before he remembered to breathe.

“Lance!” His mother called from behind, but the man was too lost to even hear her. Veronica was hot on his heels, knowing better than anyone that Lance wasn’t of sound mind right now, and the Lion may not be as friendly as it used to be, and hell knows who or what was aboard.

The Lion landed gracefully in from of them. Its huge eyes shone yellow, a few new scratches littered its mouth and Lance did not stop running.

“Red, it’s you! Red!”

“Lance, get back here, we don’t know who’s on board!” His sister yelled.

Lance stopped only when the lion was at arm’s reach, his eyes full of awe and bewilderment, mouth agape and knees threatening to buckle underneath his weight.

“I’ve missed you, Red.” He raised his hand to rest it on its nose. “So, so much.”

There was an audible purr, it reverberated through the night and Lance could swear it was the ground resonating, not his trembling muscles.

 ** _We need to go_** , it spoke in his head. Well, not exactly spoke, more like projected ideas into his mind via the telepathic connection that somehow didn’t die out in the past years... Lance did not want to dwell on that.

“Lance! Oh my god!” His mother had finally joined them, and stood by his sister who still seemed frozen on the spot.

“I told you it was Red,” Lance finally turned to face them, though his hand never left the lion’s nose. It made it real and not a dream, touching Red.

“Why is it here?” Veronica found her voice again.

“I don’t know,” Lance’s gaze fell to the grass. “But I should go with him.”

“What? Last time you got into a lion you were gone for five years, Lance!”

“Mom, that did the universe some serious good that I did, you know?” Lance tried to crack a joke. “It may be the same now.”

The lion buzzed impatiently in his mind.

“Every threat is gone! No more witches, or evil alien emperors, or robeasts for you to fight!” She exclaimed, then sent Red an apologetic smile.

“Mom, Red keeps telling me to hurry. He’s always looked out for me and I have to trust him.”

“I’m calling the Garrison. This is unbelievable.” Veronica fished her phone out of her dressing gown. “The lions have saved us countless times, so I hate to agree with you Lanky Lance, but it seems you’re needed out there again.” She sighed. “-hello?” She stepped away to talk to whoever was on night shift at the base.

“Mom, I love you, and I’m sure red will keep me safe.”

“I don’t want to lose you again...” there were tears in her eyes and Lance wrapped his arms around her tight. His cheek pressed against the top of her head as he felt light sniffles come from her.

“I’ll be alright Mom, don’t worry.” He whispered against her head, his own eyes trailing between his sister and Red.

“I can’t stop you even if I wanted to. But let everyone say goodbye this time.” She stepped away and gave him the motherly smile he loved.

“Of course, I need to pack anyway.” Lance spoke before looking at Red. “I’ll go with you, just let me pack real quick, I don’t want to starve, you know? Won’t be much help then.”

The lion gave him an approving purr, only a slight sense of urgency to it. Lance ran towards the house.

He stuffed clothes (mostly underwear) into the first bag he’s found, raided the medicine cabinet for disinfectants and bandages just in case there weren’t any Coalition ships nearby if he got hurt. He threw in a pair of jeans and a comfy sweater just in case and began changing into his old space leggings and shirt that he never got to throwing out. Thankfully. He had no armoured suit anymore though, but he didn’t have any the first time he left Earth either.

When he got back down the stairs his whole family was standing in the living room. His eyes watered.

“I hate to leave y’all,” he tried a smile and opened his arms to embrace them.

The kids came first like a tsunami, almost throwing him off balance with their hugs. The adults were solemn, he got a few pats on the shoulder or a light hug and so many sad but encouraging smiles. He wanted to cry, already homesick.

“General Iverson is here!” Veronica shouted through the open front door.

Lance steadied himself and wiped the tears before stepping out onto to porch. The one piece of wood creaked like it always did when stepped on, the sound borderline unpleasant.

“Cadet! What’s the meaning of this?” The commander skipped through pleasantries.

“I’m a pilot, you’re the one who promoted me, Commander.” Lance defended. “And I don’t know, I’ve been restless for a week now, it must have been the bond reactivating when Red started heading towards Earth. Now he’s here, sir.”

“Do you know where you’re going?”

„No, sir. Red told me it was urgent, though.”

“Of course,” the commander (General now but Lance refused to acknowledge that) rubbed his tired eyes. “I expect you to keep us updated of your whereabouts as often as you’ll be able to. We will try to send some support your way if you’ll need it.”

“The others, their lions didn’t come back?” Lance entertained the hope growing in bottom of his chest. The commander gave him an enigmatic look.

“None as of yet.”

“Oh, I thought...” he glanced at Red whose purring was growing more and more impatient with every passing minute.

Iverson just looked at him sadly. “I’ve brought you something.”

“Huh?”

“We replicated the tech from your original ones, and this has all the gadgets Pidge could think of,” he smiled, pulling out a suit of space armour from the booth of his vehicle. “And rations.” He took out another bag.

Lance looked at Red, then at the suit. The lion moved over as if on cue. Both their eyes scrutinising the suit. It was anthracite with red and blue markings around the shoulders, back, thighs and knees. Chrome finishes of the fastenings glistened under the porch light.

Lance knew Pidge was not the one behind the visual part, though whoever was, they were a genius.

“Thank you,” he finally spoke.

It was time to gather his things and go, so Lance dropped his luggage into Reds open mouth and turned back to hug everyone one last time, even the commander.

It was only a few hours later, already past the solar system, when he started panicking.

What the hell did he just agree to? He didn’t even have his bayard, what would he do if the lion’s basic functions were not enough? There was no Voltron to form to save his skin. He was once again alone, but in space this time, far from family, friends... no team to back him up.

“What did I get myself into, huh, Red?” He asked.

 ** _We must hurry,_** he said.

“But where are we going? Why are we going?”

There was an electric humming and a few files popped up on the screen along with a set of coordinates.

Lance read through, his eyes widening with every sentence, heart clenching and shattering all over again.

‘Violence between two planets in sector A-R-12-48B’ ‘members of humanitarian organisation gone missing in a terrorist attack’ ‘disturbsnces in the far reach”

Lance read through the articles, reports, and any memos the lion supplied him, sending the most worthwhile sources back to Earth as he went. Until he read a name.

‘Krolia and Keith Kogane went missing after risking their life to deliver medical supplies.’ He read. He clicked into the report.

Lance couldn’t help the whisper that came out. “Keith...”

‘The search has been abandoned after two weeks due to no clues to their whereabouts. The group of pirates that took them has been taken into custody by the Galra. They claimed a few of their members had disappeared with their hostages.’ Lance felt tears flood his eyes. He blinked them away and kept reading. ‘Their last known whereabouts pinpointed them to planet Taujeer in the A-R-12-32B sector. The leader of the Blade of Marmora Keith Kogane along with Krolia have been declared KIA.’

Lance let out a gasp.

“Red we need to find them!”

In response, the lion pulled up a travel log from a cargo ship on the screen.

‘Short burst of rhythmic interference in Iloya asteroid belt in sector A-R-12-48B quadrant 108. Searched the perimeter for settlements or life forms, none found.’

Lance looked to the GPS to his right and sure as hell that was exactly where they were going. He had no idea if it would help, though. If that ship couldn’t find anything, what luck would they have?

He was pulled into the mindspace without a warning.

He saw Red bursting out of the hangar in the Castle to save Keith. He saw Red damage the Marmora HQ when Keith was fighting in his trance. He saw each and every moment Red has come out of his way to save him.

 _It’s not me you came back for_ , Lance smiled.

 ** _Sorry_** , an apologetic purr sounded in his mind.

_Wait, wait..._

“You still have the bond!”

The lion purred approvingly.

Lance opened a communication channel to Earth. “This is the Red Lion hailing Earth.”

“This is lieutenant Acxa speaking, what is it Lance?” Her voice was slightly amused.

“Hi! I’m going to find Keith; I’ve got a solid clue and Red still has a bond. It might work unless...” Lance winced when the realisation came. There may not be anyone to find, at least not alive. “Unless, you know.”

“He’s missing?!”

“So, like me. I learned only when Red came. It wasn’t unusual for Keith to disappear for months on end... he’s been MIA for two months now, declared KIA last week.”

“Oh fuck, I’m gonna see if we have any ships in the area to back you up.”

“Iverson’s already on that, I’ll be fine.” Lance smiled. “Plus, I’ve got a Voltron Lion with me.”

“Yeah, well, stay safe and find him, you know?”

“That’s the plan.”

They ended soon after exchanging some more technical information. Lance wanted to contact his old team, but he had no idea where any of them were. He decided to doze off, settling into the small bed Pidge helped him install into the lion’s hull so long ago. It was still there, though, so the lions either didn’t care or have actually cared about them enough not to erase them from their interiors. At least Red did, and it warmed Lance’s heart.

They travelled through space for the next five days. Lance really tried to keep his head cool, but the lack of human contact and the fear for Keith’s life kept him on edge. With each hour his anxiety kept getting worse to the point of him constantly tapping on the main console.

 ** _Eat something_** , Red purred. **_We’ll be there tomorrow._**

Lance looked to the military space rations, then to his shaking hands and felt his stomach twist. He really had no appetite.

**_Eat._ **

With a soft sigh, he fished a packet of dried fruits and food goo out of the bag. It should be good enough.

After earning a satisfied hum out of the lion, he ran a system check-up, checked the logs he made and sent them to earth, just in case. All systems were in order. He got into his new suit, feeling it morph to perfectly fit his body, instinctively he reached for his bayard. Nothing. He tried the other side but still nothing. Then he figured it out. He had no weapons at all.

_Stupid Lance!_

The lion seemed to notice it too, because it rumbled and made mechanical sounds that made Lance fear for his life. Would Red eject him for being stupid?

**_No._ **

Maybe he’d find a stick, or something. Lance got lost in thought as the mechanical rumbles continued around him.

 ** _Here,_** Red said. A compartment to his left opened, showing him a red and black bayard. Lance jumped out of his seat. It was similar to the original one, but was more lightweight and smaller. He activated it.

 ** _It’s a spare, not strong_**. The lion told him.

The weapon vibrates in his hand and transformed into a blaster. He tried its weight in his hands, feeling a familiar spike of adrenaline.

He wasn’t doomed, after all.

But the bayard seemed to buzz with anticipation in his hand, and so did the lion in his head.

He tried activating? Transforming? The bayard again. It changed into his beloved sniper rifle but before he managed to bring his eye to the sight it morphed again into the sword he’s only wielded once before: altean broadsword.

He gave it a test swing, the vaguely familiar weight throwing him off balance. He’d need to practice.

The sword then morphed yet again, as if it was trying out shapes as well, and took the form of a light one-handed sword that still looked altean, though he’d never seen one like that before.

The test swing proved successful: the blade was perfectly balanced in his hand. Its hilt was heavy enough to carry force yet did not hinder movements, and Lance smiled at it. He really could be dealing some damage now.

“How long ‘til we reach the asteroids?” He asked.

The GPS timer lit up. 3 hours.

Lance sat into the chair and closed his eyes, he synced his breathing with the hum of Red’s machinery, the slow rhythm taming his erratic heartbeat. He dived into his mind, tangling it with the lions and searching. He could feel the remnants, memories of the bond Red shared with Alfor, but he couldn’t find Keith. If Alfor, who was definitely dead now, was there, Keith should be too, right?

Lance decided to try something else, he merged their mind spaces, his and Red’s, the overwhelming sensation sending shivers through his body. He then looked for his own bond to Keith.

He’d love to say it was weak because it was never developed to be as strong as his other ones. He’d love to say it was weak because he hadn’t seen Keith in an awfully long time. He hated to say it was hard to find because he had repressed it a long time ago, when Keith had abandoned them for the Marmora before the stupid Coalition Air Show.

Red hummed in dismay, but didn’t poke at Lance too much. He’d found the bond after all.

It was a coiled string in his mind, starting and leading nowhere, too complicated to pull at. And he knew he had to untangle it at least partially before he could use it to find the lion’s bond to Keith. And he needed that to locate him.

 _Who was Keith?_ Lance sighed before answering. Keith was our leader after Shiro. Red Paladin turned Black Paladin. A loner with an indifferent attitude. Willing to die for and with us.

The memory of how Keith wanted to use his fighter to pierce the particle barrier on Haggar’s ship came forward. Lance felt a tinge of guilt: he should’ve reached out to him after, asked if he was okay. He only spoke to Matt about it and still had no idea how to go about it with Keith. And he didn’t. And then Keith left again.

Keith was his rival, though now Lance had to admit that it was mostly one-sided. Picking at him was amazing, though. The way he used to get all defensive or even retaliate made Lance’s heart swell in a way it was never supposed to do again. Keith’s laugh sounding vibrantly through the halls of the Castle, so distinct to Lance’s ears it drowned out all other noise.

The string began untangling in his mind until it formed a more or less straight line. He felt the ping of a similar bond in the lion’s consciousness. A string so frail it was barely there materialised before his eyes. It was there, stretched, but there, and it lead towards Keith. He closed his fingers around the string and channeled all the energy he could muster into it.

It started glowing with a red light and Lance found himself back in his own body, in Red’s cockpit. The feeling of the bond still lit in his head (or soul?).

GPS stated ETA: 24 minutes.

He let the lion pull at both their strings to establish Keith’s location. Lance scanned the space around them for signals and interference, letting the software Pidge put there once do its job at deciphering all of them into coherent messages.

Nothing worth noting.

ETA 12 minutes.

Lance opened a Channel to Earth.

“This is the Red Lion hailing Earth.”

“Any problems so far?” Sounded Iverson’s voice.

“Not yet, my ETA is 9 minutes and counting. I’ll find where exactly that Marmora signal came from, I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

“Good luck.”

Lance sighed after switching the comms off, and slumped into his seat.

 ** _He’s been here, not long ago,_** Red spoke in his mind.

“Can we land at the exact location? Maybe they left something.”

There was a purr that Lance took to mean a yes.

He watched Red weave through the asteroids in swift motions, thankfully not requiring much of his help. They made their way onto the surface of a particularly big one and Lance scanned for any forms of life and heat signatures. Hell, he scanned for any running technology.

The radar was mute for a few ticks before zeroing in on a very faint life source, and a Barely functional piece of Galra tech. He locked onto them before uploading the data into his suit. The signal was ragged and easily mistakable for a glitch. He had to check it out anyway.

“Stay alert, I’ll go check this out.”

Lance stepped out of the lion, his jetpack roaring into life. He found the surface was literally just space rocks, without any atmosphere, let alone signs of vegetation.

This was no place to live. Maybe it really was just a glitch?

He followed his tracker, the holo screen only giving him a direction. The rocks crumbled under his feet making the ground slippery and unsafe.

He stumbled upon a cave, and his GPS was pointing towards it. There was no light inside, so he drew out his bayard, better safe than sorry.

His heartbeat thumped in his ears as he let the cave’s darkness engulf him, his only source of light the flashlight on his shoulder and the bayard’s soft glow.

“Anyone here? I come in peace!” Lance called.

He heard no reply, and stepped further into the cave.

Shining on the walls, he could see scattered rags, metal junk and some outdated tech. Everything was in pieces.

His tracker beeped. Lance was getting closer to whoever or whatever was the source of the signal.

The cave took a turn, bringing him into what looked like an operating theatre that made his insides churn. On the table, strapped to it by some kind of metal chains laid a person.

Without thinking, Lance darted towards them, his flashlight illuminating the person’s features.

“Krolia,” Lance touched her arm. “Krolia, can you hear me?”

Her face grimaced, the old breather almost falling off her face. Lance took a moment to study her for any injuries.

She looked weak, malnourished, her muscles were long gone and her Marmora suit looked almost empty. It was ripped in a few places, and soaked with blood around her left shoulder. The skin on her inner elbows was exposed with deep brown bruises and marks of repeated injections.

Lance tried unbinding her, finding that the metal clamps would not budge.

Krolia murmured something, but Lance was busy morphing his bayard into a sword.

“Shh, you’re safe, Krolia. I’m getting you out of here.”

With his weapon, he made a quick work of any remaining straps. They clattered to the ground in slow motion, the low gravity not making the whole scene very spectacular.

Low gravity also made Lance able to hoist the tall woman up without too much hassle.

“Red, I’ve got Krolia, pick us up?” Lance spoke into his helmet.

She kept murmuring something, but Lance’s priorities laid in getting her safe right now. Then he would go back and see if there were any clues.

He made his way to the exit, hoping Red would get there soon enough and no one else would show up. Things could go right for once in his life.

And they did, almost.

Lance was setting Krolia into Red’s open mouth, when a laser beam shot at Red’s armour. He scrambled into the lion without much thinking.

The radars in the cockpit sounded an alarm, more lasers firing at Red. Some hitting the cave’s entrance and collapsing it.

“Fuck, take us out of here,” Lance slammed the levers forwards, the Lion’s thrusters coming to life. “Evasive manoeuvres!”

Lance tried to get an ID on the ship firing at them, anything that would let the Coalition find out who was attacking him.

They rushed through the asteroid belt, Lance shooting behind him, trying to get the pursuing ship off his tail. Who the fuck is attacking the Red Lion? Were they nuts?

Lance steered the ship towards another asteroid cluster, big enough to let them hide.

“Turn off all non-essential systems, lights out.” He commanded as they landed in a nook big enough to hide them.

With a hitched breath, Lance watched the ship circle around them, shooting at any signs of movement. It let him take a moment to study the markings on the ship, maybe figure out where these pirates were coming from.

It was a ship worthy of Dr Frankenstein. It had Galra cruiser weapons mounted onto an Olkari cargo vessel, some puigian add-ons and who knows what else. Definitely a pirate ship.

The scanners picked up a familiar biometric signature. A very certain space wolf was on this vessel. No Keith, though.

But he had Krolia on board, who he really needed to get into a healing pod. No detours. He would need to find Kosmo later.

Lance waited until the ship disappeared from Red’s radar.

When it did, he moved to the back of the cockpit, he had to at least secure Krolia on the bed before they went on their way again.

He hoisted her up from the floor where he left her before (they were being shot at, no time for tending to injuries), and put her on the bed. He was about to move away, but reminded himself to take off her breather was barely working and he doubted the air in the cockpit was anyhow worse.

She gasped when the device left her head, breathing becoming easier. It almost looked as if she would soon come back to consciousness.

Lance gave her a once over, the light in the cockpit showing the full extent of her injuries. She looked kinda older, too, as if she was missing for far longer than two months.

He couldn’t leave her like that, who knew where the nearest Coalition ship was? He had to dress her wounds to keep her alive, Keith would be so heartbroken if she didn’t make it.

Fuck, they still had to find Keith. And get Kosmo.

“Red, if the coast’s clear, get us out of the belt into free space, we need to find a Coalition ship.”

He cut out parts of the ragged material of her suit, taking any bigger shards and pieces of cloth out of her wounds. He then sprayed them with a disinfectant and healing gel that worked wonders on his blisters and hoped it would at least do her some good. The wound on her shoulder looked bad, it was oozing blood and green puss, and looked awfully like a stab. He cleared and dressed it as best he could with his limited supplies.

Krolia began shifting, her eyes squeezing and relaxing, breath deeper and even than before.

Lance left her in the back, hoping she wouldn’t kill him immediately after waking up. He had to get in his seat, and call for help. He should also see if Red managed to get any ID on that fucking ship.

“This is the Red Lion hailing any Coalition vessels in the area, I need urgent medical care.” Lance threw the message out into space in the standard encryption, hoping it would get a reply sooner than later. He really needed to get Krolia to a doctor.

“This is the Red Lion hailing any Coalition vessels in the area, I need urgent medical care.”

The message kept sounding out into space, almost like a mantra, and Lance could feel the anxiety seeping in.

“This is Cruiser Vrek hailing the Red Lion, Ezor speaking. Should we send an extraction team? Your signal comes from the Iloya belt.” Lance smiled at the typically Galra name of the ship and the familiar person on the other end, his own radar already working to pinpoint the signal.

“Ezor! Just send me your coordinates ASAP, I’m mobile, I’ve found Krolia.”

“Sending coordinates, we will prepare for your arrival.”

Just in case, Lance pulled up a channel to Iverson.

“Is there a Cruiser Vrek in my area?”

“What’s going on?” Iverson sounded half asleep.

“Can you check if there is a cruiser Vrek in my area? I’ve found Krolia, but she needs urgent medical care.”

“Lance... uh, yeah, lemme check.”

Coordinates popped up on his screen.

“It’s ours, under Captain Ezor no less.”

“Thanks, I need to go now.”

So Iverson really had sent a word out that he might need some help, a random ship calling itself the Red Lion would have been subjected to far more scrutiny.

Another set of coordinates popped up on his screen and he didn’t have to even ask Red to verify and put them in. All Lance did was push the lever as far forward as it would go. The sudden acceleration pushed him into his seat, and he heard a groan from Krolia.

Red sped through space towards the coordinates he got until the familiar (though not exactly pleasant) silhouette of a Galra cruiser came into view.

Lance opened the comms again.

“Cruiser Vrek, this is the Red Lion, permission to approach.”

“Fuck, I thought you’ve built a replica!” Ezor’s sweet voice exclaimed.

“Uh?”

“Permission granted,” a gruff voice interrupted, and Lance noticed one of the bays open.

He flew in without hesitation and the doors slid shut behind him.

Red lowered his head to let Lance get out comfortably, but before he stepped out, a medic team was already pushing through to board the ship, a stretcher between them. He let them through.

“Lance McClain, the Red Paladin. I’ve never thought I’d see you again.” Ezor greeted, Zethrid walking closely behind her.

“Krolia needs help, she’s been wounded, probably drugged, too.” Lance cut the pleasantries short. “Thanks for taking her in.”

“Won’t you stay?” Zethrid asked as the medics pushed the stretcher out of Red’s mouth, Krolia barely conscious.

“I can’t.”

“Lance?” Krolia’s coarse whisper caught their attention.

“Krolia, you’re awake, thank God!” Lance rushed to her side. “Do you know where is Keith?”

“Took him away, I couldn’t stop them... You need to find him,” was probably what Krolia wanted to say, but the words were slurred and quiet and Lance barely made out a general meaning.

“I will, you focus on getting better,” Lance squeezed her hand.

“They don’t...” she rasped, “no Kosmo.”

Lance looked at her, trying to figure out what she’d meant, but he could barely think under her wild, urgent stare.

When she tried speaking again. Her body disagreed, sending her into a fit of coughs and wheezes and the medics wheeled her away in a hurry.

“Do you need anything?” Ezor asked after a moment of silence.

“Uh?” Lance shook himself out of thought. “I’m out of first aid,” he spoke.

If it’s going to be anything like that with Keith, I’m gonna need it. I can’t let him die.

He lives, Red agreed in his head.

“I’ll get some, what exactly do you need?” Ezor continued.

“Bandages, disinfectant, oxygen, and if you’d have a spare burn foam it would be amazing.” Lance rushed. “If Krolia is like that, and they took Keith somewhere, I don’t know,” tears started brimming in his eyes. “I don’t know what they are doing to him.”

“Hey,” Zethrid put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll find him. And we’ll let you know about Krolia, maybe she’ll have more to tell when we patch her up.”

“Thanks, I’ll do my best.” Lance tried to smile.

“There you go,” Ezor came back with a large bag of first aid. “Got you everything you might need if... when you find Keith.”

“Thank you guys, means a lot.” Lance started walking into the cockpit, and they waved at him from beyond Red’s closing mouth. He could swear he saw them kiss, but this awakened something he had buried deep down in his heart. So he sat down in his chair and started the engines.

 ** _I feel him,_** Red purred.

 _So do I_ , Lance thought and closed his eyes.

Him and Red focused on their bonds, first to each other, then used that to pinpoint Keith and both their eyes gleamed yellow before Red activated his mega-thrusters.

 _Keith, we’re coming for you_. An ache settled into his chest, Lance knew what it was, and he refused to acknowledge it. He had stuff to do.

After another week in space, Lance couldn’t keep his mind straight and his thoughts gave way to anxiety.

What if they’ll be too late? What if they took him into another time pocket and to him it’s already been years? What if they torture him or force him to fight for his life? What if, what if, what if.

 ** _Stop,_** Red snapped, and forced Lance to focus on something else than his misery.

“What?”

There was no direct reply, but the screen in front of him changed. It showed a map of the nearby quadrants. Lance had no idea what to look for until he fused it with the GPS which had Keith’s rough coordinates put in (a median of Lance’s and Red’s bond), ETA: 16 hours.

They were getting closer.

Lance pulled out the intercom.

“This is the Red Lion hailing the Coalition.”

“This is Zethrid, everything okay?”

“Yeah, just,” Lance shook his head to clear his thoughts. “I need a list of potentially abandoned or new metropolitan settlements in quadrant A-R-13-07B.”

“Coming right up, I hope you won’t need it, but there’s also a Coalition ship out there on planet Zeehan. From what we know they’re still erecting their capital, but might help if you need somewhere to run.”

“Thanks, so much.”

“G’luck!”

The com shut down and Lance looked towards the bed, he should get some sleep.

He first had to change the blanket, the one he put Krolia on was filthy with blood and dirt, and puss... He wasn’t about to sleep in that if he didn’t have to. He opened the storage unit and took out another blanket and a set of bedsheets.

He sat on the bed and began preparing the bed when alarms sounded around him.

“Evasive manoeuvres, let’s see what they got.” Lance commanded, taking his seat. Red swirled among lasers. The lion’s agility unparalleled, making jumping between cannon shots a child’s play.

Lance moved the levers, rising above the attacking ship to get a better look, giving the scanners enough time to get an ID. It was the same pirate ship from before.

“What the fuck, guys?” He screamed.

Red knew what was going to happen before Lance did. And the Lion didn’t particularly care for Kosmo, despite the biometric signature clearly visible in the scan.

I can’t have you following me anymore, Lance thought. The back of his mind screaming at him to save Kosmo. But there was no way, he hoped to find the wolf after he retrieved Keith. But he was in open space with nowhere to hide from their scanners. They would catch up to him sooner or later. Lance couldn’t risk it.

Red was already readying the laser in its mouth.

“I’m so sorry, Kosmo.” Lance’s cheeks were stained with tears as he pulled the triggers.

The ship exploded into pieces, its hull cracked and burning. A few escape pods managed to depart before a secondary explosion, probably the power source, wrecked the ship into nothing.

 _If I let them live they will find me again_ , a dark thought passed through Lance’s mind.

“No,” he spoke aloud, clinging to his honour.

Keith, Red spoke in his mind.

“Wait, let’s see if we can find out something about them first.” Lance steered the Lion towards the wreckage.

They passed through pieces of the engines, a few burnt bodies floating around. Lance averted his gaze, focusing on scanning the place for anything alive.

A red dot blinked on his screen, biometric sign so familiar that Lance gasped in disbelief.

It looked like a cage, and his scanner was pointing directly towards it. Red manoeuvred them so it was clear in their view.

“Kosmo?” Lance whispered.

The wolf looked towards the lion, it’s eyes full of fear, but also recognition. It tried teleporting, only to appear in the cage once again.

Lance suited up and left the cockpit, his jetpack propelling him towards the cage. It was much thicker and bigger than it seemed through the windows.

“Kosmo!” Lance reached the cage. “I’ll get you out.”

He tried the lock to no avail. The electrical panel was completely fried, six metal bolts remaining in place. He tried pulling, maybe their integrity has been damaged in the explosion?

Apparently, no. Shooting at the lock was his next option, though that could hurt Kosmo. The wolf cowered in the far corner, looking dejected, as if it wouldn’t let any hope cross his mind.

“I’ll get you out, don’t you worry,” Lance said, his voice as calming and confident as he could muster.

He took out his bayard, forming it into a sword. With its tip, he fondled with the bolts, managing to cut through the two most damaged ones. Kosmo looked at him hopefully.

“Fuck, it’s going to take an eternity.”

Kosmo yipped.

“Move away,” he commanded. His bayard formed into a blaster — shooting the lock open it was.

He really shouldn’t have dismissed this in the beginning, the lock disappeared before his eyes, a gaping hole of melted metal left behind. Lance pulled the door open before the cold space could set the metal again.

“C’mere, buddy,” he encouraged, opening his arms. Kosmo stepped towards him, sniffing (magical space wolves, breathing the vacuum). Lance chuckled.

“Come on, we still need to find Keith?” The wolf reacted to his owner’s name, lunging itself into Lance’s arms. “Here we go!”

He let his jetpack propel them towards Red’s waiting mouth. He had almost no steering with the wolf cradled in his arms and sure hoped Red knew that.

The lion didn’t, and Lance’s back slammed into the hull, the impact knocking the air out of his lungs.

Kosmo teleported them into the ship.

Lance wheezed inside his helmet, vapour condensing on his visor and eyes watering. God, how he hated falling on his back.

Kosmo gave him a wary look, probably only now realising that ‘going with the first person you see’ may not have been his happiest idea. Lance doubted the wolf would recognise the ship after so many years. Especially with the low, scared growls it was sending towards him, head lowered and the fur on his neck standing tall.

So, he took of his helmet and hoped for the best, meaning, Kosmo wouldn’t bite his throat off.

His breath was once again knocked out of him when the wolf lunged its full weight at his chest without a second’s notice. Wet licks found his face, fur tickling his throat and heavy paws pressing into his solar plexus and shoulder. He might die of suffocation, but he let whatever was left of a breath in his lungs into a hearty laugh, Red joining in with his soft purr in the back of Lance’s head.

It took Kosmo another minute or so to contain himself, and Lance was out of breath from giggling by then.

He heaved and rummaged through his rations to find something the wolf might enjoy. He found a chicken pâté and hoped Kosmo would like it better than whatever he was fed by the pirates.

Seems like he did, Lance noted with a fond smile. He sat back into his chair. Red took the reins, propelling them towards their last stop. Maybe breaking out Keith wouldn’t be so hard with a teleporting wolf at his side.

Lance busied himself reading through articles about Keith’s recent adventures (the ones from before he’s been taken hostage) and lazily scratching behind Kosmo’s ears.

His throat clenched when he realised it’s been over a week since he left Krolia in Ezor and Zethrid’s care. He was about call them when his screen lit up.

Incoming Call

Lance picked up, the video slightly blurry and peppered, but what he saw made his mouth stretch into a smile.

“Krolia!”

“Hello, Lance,” her voice was weak, but carried the usual sturdiness Lance managed to grow accustomed to over the few times they’ve met.

“It’s good to see you’re better,” he started. “I’ve found Kosmo, I suppose the pirates managed to catch him.”

“Oh no, is he alright?”

“I guess, no injures I can see.” Lance bent down to scratch the wolf’s head. “But it means Keith is all alone, wherever he is.”

“I’m actually calling about that.” She dismissed Lance’s comment of her son, but averted her gaze. He didn’t push. “On the list you’ve requested, there’s a planet called Sibilla. I don’t know much, but I’ve heard these rogues mention it.”

“Sibilla?” Lance typed the word into his GPS and watched it chart the course, the two lines (one they’ve managed to chart by their bond and drawing a line through space then choosing the first planet it crossed as their first search point) merge into one. “That’s actually what me and Red had managed to figure out so far, thanks for backing it up.”

“How? They stripped him from any tech.” She looked at him suspiciously.

“Red still has a bond with Keith, kinda like the Black Lion did with Zarkon. There’s my connection too- woah!” Red shook his whole body, making Lance land on the floor.

“Everything alright? Are you being attacked?”Came Krolia’s worried call.

“I’m fine, Red’s just telling me the comparison is inaccurate,” Lance huffed while picking himself up from the floor.

“He’s alive, then,” she brought her hands to her mouth as tears brimmed in her eyes. “He’s alive.”

“Yeah, but this plus general location is all we know so far,” Lance tried to word this cautiously. He may be alive now, but if he’s injured, there’s no telling if he’ll make it.

“I’ll come after you the moment I’m well enough to pilot a ship. Keep us updated.”

“Of course, now go eat, you looked horrible when I found you.” Lance smiled towards the image on his screen.

“Yeah, and...” Krolia looked straight into the camera, “thanks for saving me, and Kosmo.”

“Glad to be of service,” Lance laughed as bowed comically, hands thrown out to the sides and came back up with a wink. It earned him a delicate smile. The ache in his chest grew stronger.

They chatted for a while longer until Ezor came and merged the channel with Commander Iverson. It was all business until mr Holt joined them and offered his usual kind smiles and sage advice. It all made Lance miss the old times.

Kosmo nudged at his hand, and he absentmindedly pet him, tears all but falling down his cheeks. It was dark in space, thankfully, and Lance let the tears fall after the call ended. Both Kosmo and Red pretended not to notice.

 ** _Near!_** Red purred in his head, new energy flowing through the hull.

It was a day or two after the call (Lance had lost the sense of day and night, it was always dark outside in space). Red had been following the GPS towards their now verified, potential coordinates.

Lance dived into the mindspace, once again searching for Keith. The energy of Keith’s life force was stronger than ever in his head, it meant he was nearer, though, not healthier. That knowledge seemed to eat at Lance from inside despite Kosmo’s continuous efforts to calm all of them down. He could also probably get more from the bond if he untangled the last knot on the metaphorical string. And that’s something Lance could do.

He pulled at the strings anyway, hoping to _see_ Keith, but nothing happened. As he came out of the trance, he felt new energy surge through him, though. He was not letting Keith be alone for much longer.

Red had outdone himself with his speed this time, bringing them into another quadrant of space within a day. But that was Red to you, always to Keith’s rescue.

Kosmo growled when Sibilla came into view. The growl vibrating and mixing with the buzz of the engines, sending shivers down Lance’s back.

He didn’t need to raise more alarms because THE RED LION OF VOLTRON IS HERE. And so he decided to pierce the atmosphere way out of the main settlement of the planet, then take the pod towards the city, in hopes the pod was less conspicuous. It posed a few problems, though. The pods were designed for a single person and perhaps had enough space for some luggage.

He knew it would fit another person, he’s done it with Nyma before, and with Allura on a few occasions they’ve decided that spending some quality time in Blue’s cockpit would do them good.

Lance felt a spike in his heart at the mention of her. He could almost see her face in front of his eyes. He pushed the memories back.

But him, Kosmo AND a probably indisposed Keith? That was bound to be problematic. That problem was however, a part of the optimistic scenario.

Lance scratched at his face, his plan B looking really, really unappealing. That would mean that he’s been spotted while breaking Keith out and would have to come out blasting his way through. Red would pick them up, sure, but by then he would be in the middle of a full-out battle.

He looked at the city beneath him, a large pyramidal building looking and awful lot like an arena just off centre, surrounded from south, east and north with smaller buildings and wide roads. To the west, though, there was a dense forest with no signs of activity. He decided it was his place to land, never mind that there might have been a reason the city hadn’t grown in that direction. With one last look, he spotted the many pirate ships, large and small, that rested on buildings, the landing spaces and on the fields surrounding the city.

Maybe, just maybe, Keith would be in good shape, maybe not fighting fit but mobile at least. This wasn’t a thought Lance wanted to hold on to for too long. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, eh?

Lance picked a spot far enough from their scanners, and pierced the atmosphere. Automatically, his computer read its composition and gave him an okay for breathing without his helmet. At least that was something he wouldn’t have to worry about.

He landed in a clearing in the forest just out of town, and his lion walked him further towards the city, shortening his eventual escape route. They went forward slowly, scanning for any threats around them. Lance thanked fate for the fact that red was just small enough to fit under the tall canopy.

They stopped when the large building he spotted from above towered above them. It really was a miracle he’s made it this far.

If only Pidge was here, Lance wished to himself. She would’ve been able to tune the scammer finely enough to find Keith’s biometrics and zero in on them. But he was just Lance, and Pidge wasn’t anywhere in reach, and neither were other members of his team.

He sent an encrypted message to the Zeehan ship, Cruiser Vrek and Earth. “This is the Red Lion hailing the Coalition. I’m on Sibilla, there’s many pirates in the city, I know Keith is here, too.”

Lance took the pod, crammed inside it with Kosmo and drove around the city until he found a nice road leading towards the centre and headed down it. He passed shops selling all kinds of various goods. It looked amazing, if Lance was to be honest, goods from around the universe displayed in shacks and small buildings. It ranged from pieces of tech, through foods and clothing items, to live creatures. Lance covered Kosmo’s eyes when they passed a shop of the latter kind.

The wolf kept sniffing the air more intently the further they drove into the city. Towards the centre, the shops seemed to be more and more focused on tech and living creatures, and Lance couldn’t shake off the feeling of numb eyes following him. He slowed down nonetheless; his eyes involuntarily glued to every passed business.

He gave up on covering Kosmo’s eyes. They both looked out the windows, the creatures in the cages looking more and more... intelligent? Sentient? Humanoid? Lance felt his ribs clench. It’s not, not possible.

The road took him towards the pyramid, the crowd intensified and somewhat agitated. He looked for a place to park when there were too many people to drive through.

Lance stepped out of the pod, but decided to keep his helmet on and darkening the visor to obscure his face. Who knew if someone wouldn’t be able to figure out his identity?

He moved through the crowd, making sure Kosmo was at his heel all the time. He watched the people around him. The variety in clothing and shapes and sizes was amazing and it looked like they were mostly half-breeds of various species. He managed to find some who looked like Galra, some Olkari, and other species mixtures he wasn’t able to pin a name to.

Then there was a thing that made him stop dead in his tracks. What he first took for weird jewellery was actually shackles. Some of them could be considered pieces of art, sure, especially if you asked Pidge, but shackles nonetheless. The knot in his chest tightened. He had to find Keith.

Kosmo sniffed the air and nudged his hand. The wolf looked just as terrified as Lance was, but apparently was better at focusing on the task at hand. Maybe a trait he picked up from Keith.

He followed Kosmo further into the crowd and thanked the helmet for covering his frightened face. They almost jogged towards the pyramid, their steps far above a normal pace. Lance wanted to ask Kosmo where exactly they were going, but a large levitating screen caught his eye.

A familiar face was shown, and Lance held his breath. He knew it wasn’t the proper reaction to Keith’s face in these circumstances, but with tousled, lengthy hair Lance couldn’t deny that Keith had gone from extremely handsome to breathtaking since he saw him last.

He shook the thoughts out of his head, Red sending a dismayed purr his way, and Kosmo nudging his hand. He stole another glance at the screen. Keith’s face had matured though it might be the cheeks hollowed from malnutrition, the scar was still present from where Kuro burned him but it wasn’t an angry pink anymore. His hair had gotten long, and looked severely under-maintained. His eyes, however, were wild and restless, dilated pupils swallowing almost all of his violet irises, dark shadows underneath. All in all, he looked horrible.

The face changed to someone else before Lance could look too long.

He gathered himself and resumed following Kosmo, who kept sniffing at the air. They made their way towards the entrance to the pyramid, large neons confirming Lance’s suspicions. It was an arena.

He was stopped by a bouncer at the entrance. Kosmo looked at him curiously, as if asking why weren’t they just teleporting past the guard. Lance wanted to tell him that he should conserve his strength for their more and more inevitable escape, but settled on petting his head in reassurance. Fact was, Lance could see the wolf was in bad shape and he knew Keith would kill him if he overworked the poor space canine.

“Ticket?” The guard asked in a monotone voice.

“I’d like to get one, actually,” Lance put on his best confident voice. “Can’t wait to see the dark-haired hottie in action.”

The guard looked him up and down, his eyes stopping at Kosmo for a while.

“Come on, how much to get through?” Lance continued, his hand rising to rest on the guard’s chest. He really hoped his suit looked androgynous enough to pull it off regardless of the guard’s preferences.

“There are no tickets left.”

“There must be some way to get in?” Lance flirted, his fingers tracing up and down the guard’s chest. Lance shifted his weight to rest on the wall, bending at his waist to show off his hips and make them look more appealing.

“1000 sibils, and you don’t bother me again.” The guard almost growled.

Lance sighed happily, knowing that his face was invisible and mentally thanked the Coalition for giving him access to basically unlimited money.

He paid the guard and trotted on through the tunnel, Kosmo at his side.

The tunnel opened into a large hall that had a similar market inside, however what was on display made Lance take a step back. It wasn’t semi-sentient creatures but actual people. He felt his insides burn with dread, his head spinning.

He walked among the rows upon rows of people from various species, all bound and chained, some in cages, containers, cryo-pods and other contraptions Lance couldn’t even name. It was women and children, and men alike. They all had the same numb, scared look in their eyes, though some let the fear overtake them and turn into aggression. These snarled through their muzzles and lashed at the merchants only to be beaten into submission by tasers and whips. How could Keith survive in a place like this?

Lance wanted to free all of them, he did. But if he’s learned anything during his time in Voltron was that sometimes you had to focus on only one task at a time. And his current task was finding and freeing Keith.

He looked down at Kosmo, who seemed to have actually caught a scent. They almost ran through the crowd towards the centre of the hall where Lance spotted two large cages perched up on a tall pedestal. He gripped at Kosmo’s fur to still him.

“Buddy, we can’t move into action without a plan, okay?” He whispered to the wolf, hoping he would understand.

Because there, in one of the cages stood Keith. He was dressed in a tight-fitting armoured suit that resembled his Blade one, but must’ve been a knock-off. He would’ve located the ID chip in the original and it would all have been simpler. But things were rarely plain and simple for Lance.

Keith looked lost. He paced in the cage, his arms shaking and his head constantly turning towards something, or someone, Lance couldn’t see from so far below. He was thinner, too, muscles clearly shaped underneath the suit and hollowed cheeks accentuating his facial structure. Keith’s hair was bound back into a high ponytail which’s ends rested on the top of his shoulders. He still had that iconic fringe, if only thinner and messier.

Kosmo looked ready to teleport or start barking, but Lance sent him a glare. That would totally blow their cover or get the wolf recaptured. He didn’t want any of it to happen.

Keeping Kosmo at his heel, Lance looked around for an information desk or any equivalent. Sure enough, there was one at the foot of the pedestal, its blue and green neon sign reaching the bottom of the cages. They pushed towards it.

“Hi, do you have any spare timetables?” He asked the clerk. It was a person of a species unknown to Lance, but somehow resembling Ezor with their orange and purple coloration and head shape.

“Yes, here you go, sir.” They replied mechanically, handing him a tablet. “Please leave the device at the exit after the show”

“Sure. What can you tell me about the ones in these big cages?” Lance decided to inquire a bit more, hoping to figure out what was going on here except it being a slave market.

“They’re our champions, they participate in the Deepest Darkest competition, where they fight their fears and desires,” their voice was mechanical and somehow meek. “Our current ones are a half-Galra Keith from the Blade of Marmora, who is an outstanding swordsman. The second is an Olkari and Galra mix called Boul who represents both of the species best traits. Boul has been the leading champion for three vargas, his ability to manipulate technology and his endurance are unparalleled.”

“Thanks a lot, though, do you have anything explaining the exact rules of the game? I’ve seen similar before but I wanna know the quirks.” Lance once again put on his flirtatious tone, his gloved hand sliding back and forth on the counter.

“Of course, sir,” they gestured for him to hand back his tablet, he complied. Lance noticed the collar on their neck when they bent to upload another file onto the device. He left with a soft thank you.

He turned the timetable to the page that showed a map of the Pyre Arena, as it was apparently called. The events were supposed to start in a few doboshes with a show of the two champions’ skills. Then it would be debuts and an artistic break before the main point of the programme started: the champions fighting in the Deepest Darkest contest.

Lance couldn’t help but wonder how could one fight their desires. Like, if someone’s deepest, darkest desire was to lay in bed all day? What would be there to fight?

A vaguely familiar caller ID showed on his arm-screen and Lance considered not picking up for a few ticks, before pressing ‘accept’.

“Lance!” He stumbled when the sheer volume of the sound broke through the speakers in his helmet. “It’s Pidge!”

He stumbled again upon hearing the name.

“Pidge? Oh, hi,” he whispered into his helmet. “I can’t really talk right now.”

“Shit, I know, but I’m here to help,” her tone lowered into something more normal. “You’re on planet Sibilla, right?”

“Yeah, right in their arena now,” Lance whispered. “I need to figure out how to get Keith out of here.”

“What?” Pidge sounded as if he punched her in the gut. “They only told me that Red came back to you and you went somewhere...”

“It didn’t come for me.” Lance couldn’t help the bit of pain that crawled into his voice. “Listen, Pidge, I gotta go.”

“But Keith, Keith’s dead, they told us he was dead.”

“KIA, I know, but I’ve found Krolia and Kosmo. So, yeah, not really.” Lance spat into the com.

“Do you need any help?” Pidge’s voice was completely serious now, and Lance let out a breath he didn’t know he’s been holding.

“You could get me a blueprint of the Pyre Arena, and all info about the game Deepest Darkest.”

“If you could get me access into any computer in there it would help. I need a stronger connection.” They we’re all business now, her voice determined and focused.

Lance looked around hoping to see a console or even a thermostat, but any pieces of working tech were guarded by multiple cameras. Probably because pirates tended to be thieves.

“Can’t you hack through Red’s beacon? There really isn’t even as much as a light switch here.”

“I’ll try,” Pidge sounded dejected. “But I’ll stay on the com with you, maybe you’ll find something, and I’ll find out what I can.”

Lance sighed in response, making his way towards the escalators that would hopefully lead him onto the tribunes. There was a crowd heading there already, making him angry he didn’t manage to get up before everyone else. But the swarm of people wasn’t exactly directed at the escalators.

Lance moved further, peeking over the crowd to see what the commotion was about when the salesman of the small, inconspicuous stall started yelling towards the gathered clientele.

“Do you want to dive into our champions’ consciousness and see what they see without the fear for your life? Take one of our pills and sit back to enjoy the show of your lives! Do you want to be with them down on the arena without the danger? Take our pill! Only 7000 sibils!”

Lance shared a look with Kosmo. Getting this drug would help them understand what was going on here.

He strolled casually to the elevator as Kosmo ran off behind a darker corner. The doors closed behind Lance and he rode up.

Kosmo waited for him upstairs, his tail wagging slightly. Lance waited till the people from the elevator cleared before kneeling down and having Kosmo spit a few green and blue pills into his palm. He sealed the evidence into a compartment on his thigh.

“You didn’t eat any, did you?” Lance scratched behind Kosmo’s ears, slight smile playing on his lips. “We wouldn’t want you tripping balls, now.”

“Who are you talking to?” Pidge came in.

“Kosmo, he’s with me, he helped gather some evidence.”

“He listens to you?” Pidge’s tone was incredulous.

“I guess?”

“Gee, he never listened to anyone else than Keith.”

Lance huffed at that and Pidge didn’t seem to want to elaborate. The line quiet once again.

Lance and Kosmo went to find some seats, relatively low on the tribunes so he could have a better view of the arena.

There were large screens floating in the middle, currently displaying advertisements for “things” that Lance thought weren’t, shouldn’t be for sale. They advertised sentient species as pets or robots. It really was abhorrent, yet he couldn’t avert his gaze. At least until the speakers roared with some kind of upbeat music and the ground opened, two cages splitting the arena in half.

Of course, it had to be the other side of the arena that Keith had emerged from the corner of, stumbling as if he’d been forcefully pushed. Lance darted to see him closer, Kosmo chasing after him with similar urgency.

They stopped at the lowest row, panting and with heartbeats threatening to explode in their chests. These rows were empty for the most part, the majority of the audience seeking places higher, where they could get refills for their enjoyments much quicker, vendors walking among them.

Keith didn’t look to be injured, save for a few dark bruises peeking out from where the suit would let them. Lance took to looking towards the metal door he came from.

It was an ordinary automatic door, probably with some enforcements in it, and Lance would love to be able to read more from them, until a tall Galra man stepped out from them. He was dressed formally, his armour shining with embedded Galra and pirate marks, a dark purple cape draped over his shoulder and a sword handing at his hip. He had an angry face, and the distance did not allow Lance to see much more.

The man had beckoned Keith towards him, and Keith obeyed, his step taking the familiar shape of His arrogance when in fact he was scared out of his mind. Of what, Lance could only wonder.

The Galra told Keith something, his hands flying angrily. Keith cowered. The Keith Lance knew never cowered.

It took everything, including a cautioning purr from Red, not to jump over the railing to punch that man then and there.

“Are you there, Lance?” Pidge sounded through his helmet.

“Yeah, I’ve got my eyes on Keith.” Lance sat back on his bench in faux relaxation.

“I’m in their system. Red is amazing, to be honest,” she said. “Don’t try to engage now.”

“I know, I need to find out where he’s being held in between whatever the fuck he’s about to do.” Lance seethed.

“Yeah, about that...” she paused; her tone wary. “This competition is focused not on gladiator fights, but rather putting the participants in a simulation. It’s a mixture of tech and drugs.”

“They sell those to the audience, too. Sybillum or something like that.”

“That’s most likely a toned-down version of what they give to the slaves. But the point is, this whole setup stems from the fighting pit the Galra Empire had in the central command. Like, you know, Shiro.”

Lance’s skin wanted to roll at the sole mention. The PTSD that this man was going through... he couldn’t imagine Keith having to go through that, too.

Pidge took his silence for invitation to elaborate this time. “Putting the participants in a sim makes sense, it reduces mortality. Since the Coalition took over, I suppose it’s harder to get slaves or prisoners.”

“I guess.”

“Oh, I’ve got a blueprint. I’m sending it to you now. Do you still have eyes on Keith?”

“Yeah, the show is starting, though.”

“Zoom in on him and let me access your helmet,” she commanded.

„Sure...” Lance did as he was told, briefly searching the arena until he pinpointed Keith standing in the very middle of his cage. He zoomed in as far as he would go, noticing that Keith’s face had a completely different look to it. More focused.

The first part was about to begin, close enough that the screens started ticking down from 60. The sound was audible despite the roar of the crowd, every tick just enough longer than a second for Lance to feel queasy.

His visor did a thing. His view changed from the world as it was, instead showing a constant stream of data, then it quickly changed to showing any and all tech ID within the range, then settling for a moment of infrared before returning to normal.

“Whoah, didn’t know it could do that...”

Pidge snickered from the other side of the line. If their circumstances were different, he’d be laughing with her, probably teasing her about all the other fun gadgets she might’ve put into the suit.

“Biometric scan complete,” Pidge said. “Now you can trace him.”

Keith ducked before a laser beam hit his shoulder. The small robot circled him like a predator analysing its prey. Keith had his sword drawn, though Lance noticed it wasn’t the Blade he used to wield.

“He looks awful,” Pidge whispered into the com.

“How do we break him out without setting this whole place ablaze?” Lance tried to sound lighthearted.

Keith swung at the machine only to be pushed back by a series of lasers. He parried all of them with the blade. Dust came up from under his feet.

“There are holding cells underneath the tribunes, you could get in through the vents or ask Kosmo.”

“How do I get out after?”

Keith rolled back, but a laser beam touched his shoulder, sending a wave of electric shocks through his suit.

“Minus one point for Keith!” A voice roared through the speakers.

“Is he okay?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah, he’s back on his feet now.” Lance watched the fight go on, the robot atacking Keith with various degrees of accuracy, forcing him to dance around the beams.

A show of skill it was, after all.

“There’s an exit, on the other side of the building. It leads straight to the forest. There aren’t even guards there...” Pidge sounded suspicious. And her statement was followed by the sound of her fingers tapping on a keyboard.

Lance’s eyes were glued to Keith’s silhouette, now covered in dust from the ground. The fight looked not exactly life-threatening, but Kosmo wanted to jump towards Keith every time the robot fired. It was almost over, thankfully, if he was to trust the timer on the screen counting down the ticks until the end.

“Lance, the forest is uninhabited because it releases a neurotoxin after nightfall. Causes hallucinations and anxiety. Can literally fry your neutrons in high doses,” Pidge’s alarmed voice pulled Lance from the fight.

“Can my helmet filter it?”

“Yeah, but you don’t have a spare for Keith or Kosmo.”

A plan started forming in Lance’s head. A wacky one for sure, but better than nothing.

“I’ll have Red pick us up from the exit. I’ll minimise exposure.” Lance proposed.

“You’ll have to manage before 1AM, that’s when the concentration reaches fatality.”

“Got it. I’ll get him ASAP.” Lance was ready to jump right out of his seat.

“No, too much security now.” She said through gritted teeth.

“I can’t let him out there again!”

“You don’t have a choice. If you want all three of you to make it out alive without bloodshed, wait until the last patrol.”

“How long?”

“From what I can see here, last rounds go at 11 PM. So you’ll have an hour before the toxicity outside reaches high levels. Another hour before it’s deadly.”

Lance got up to stretch his legs and explore the place a bit more before Pidge spoke again in his ear.

“Lance, even though Keith is physically alright, he will be drugged for the whole second part of the contest. I don’t know how long the drug lasts or what’s the aftermath, how long he’s been taking it. There’s no saying he will go with you willingly, or at least quietly.”

Lance let that sink in as he strolled through the arena. He had Keith’s blinking dot on the visor of his helmet. He felt a wave of electricity and rain thunder through his body, violent and crippling. The ache in his chest only growing with every passing second. Keith was so close.

But he had to wait.

He returned to his spot on the tribune only when the dot started moving again. The dread clouded his mind and Pidge’s explanations and tips entered and left his ears like a breeze. He could tell she was frustrated with him, but then again, it was Keith after all and Lance couldn’t be trusted to think straight even if it was a sunny Saturday morning on earth.

Lance spent almost the entirety of Keith’s fight with his eyes shut close, the thunders of applause and sound effects coming to him through a veil.

Kosmo fared no better, his tail was tucked and ears twitching, mellow whimpers rolling down his tongue every now and then. Even the soothing scratches Lance had tried were of no significance.

On the rare occasion Lance had his eyes open, they were glued both to the screens showing what the Hallucinations were like and Keith’s face twisted with fear and betrayal. The zoom in his helmet turned out to be a curse.

He saw Keith fight one of the Robeasts, without the aid he kept calling for, and he saw him slash Shiro’s throat during what could only be the fight at the Kuron Project site. The blood curdling screams made Lance want to collapse.

He didn’t even care to steal glances of the other fight taking place. He could see that most of the crowd had gathered there, but paid it little mind.

In reality, Keith was fighting against a few bots flying around him in formation, firing lasers far less potent than Keith believed them to be. If the drug left him any consciousness then it was overridden by the action he’s been put into.

“Lance, you have to find a place to hide after the fight.” Pidge’s voice had finally managed to pierce the haze. “There’s no way to sneak back in without sounding the alarms.”

“Fuck, right.” Lance looked nervously to his sides, hoping for a neon sign pointing to the best hiding place. There was none. “Where?”

“There’s a storage closet at the end of the corridor to your right. There’s also a staff elevator you can use to get to the sub level.” Pidge was his big neon sign.

Lance turned back towards the arena where Keith had been given a moment to rest. The screen blinked white before showing a new scenery, and a new bot entered Keith’s cage.

The bot was humanoid in shape to the point of having actual fingers. This could not be good.

He glanced back up to the screen, dreading what he might see. It was a desert with a small wooden house with a wind turbine creaking in the background. They both knew the place too well. A shiver went down Lance’s spine.

The crowd gathered towards Keith’s cage. Roaring with applause as if it was their favourite episode of a tv series. Kosmo tried to hide between Lance’s legs.

In the house, on a worn out and patched in a few places couch sat his father. A tall man of strong build with dark hair and warm eyes, a straight nose giving his face an axis. He was reading a newspaper when the front door creaked open and Keith came in. The calm expression of his father’s face disappeared into a frown as he questioned Keith in unintelligible words that did not seem kind.

Lance suspected that in Keith’s mind, the words weren’t gibberish.

Keith stumbled over his own feet, running towards the kitchen only to have Krolia shoo him outside. Backing away, he knocked something down, and it shattered across the floor, shards glinting in the afternoon sun.

That was one of Keith’s biggest dreams, Lance knew, to be with his family once again. It had been twisted and corrupted for the pleasure of the crowd, stamped on and turned against a soul that had suffered more than enough already.

Lance wanted to get his bayard and blast them out of there that instant. It was Pidge’s voice that made him calm down.

“Sit down, you’ll draw attention.”

He focused on the uncomfortable tribune seat digging into his backbone, the touch of Kosmo’s fur underneath his hands, the sound of his own ragged breath.

Krolia, or rather the robot, punched Keith in the stomach, sending him to the ground.

The darkened visor was a blessing indeed, Lance noted again, as tears streamed freely down his cheeks. The world around him faded out, no voices or sounds entering Lance’s mind. His vision was unfocused, directed somewhere in the arena, unseeing. His breath grew shallow, the thunder in his chest intensifying into a cyclone, crippling coherent thoughts and erasing his sense of time and gravity.

“Lance,” Pidge sounded comforting yet stern, her voice anchoring him in the real world. If he felt that so much without drugs, then how was Keith feeling?

“Lance, get up, the show is over.”

He managed to get up, not without stumbling slightly, but that he covered with a bend to pet Kosmo’s head.

Lance gathered himself, blinking away any ‘dust’ that managed to get in his eyes, and made his way towards the corridor Pidge pointed him to. The crowd was thinner there, but many still lingered, buzzing about the fights, cashing on bets and updating the scoreboards. It was vile, though Lance didn’t have time to focus on anything except his mission.

The storage closet wasn’t locked, which was a good thing, he guessed. He trusted Pidge to fuck up the camera feed enough for his entrance to be lost. He scrambled towards the back of the closet anyway, tucking himself and Kosmo behind some ladders and boxes. Maybe the janitor wouldn’t need these things today? They had robots for mopping, right?

The closet was stuffy and dark, the only source of light were Kosmo’s markings which Lance had never noticed beforehand. They made the wolf even prettier, the blue hue matching his own altean marks. At least he wasn’t alone in the glow-team, he smiled.

During his time in the closet, and boy did he have time to spare, he had actually watched Keith’s previous fights in the arena. His breath hitched every now and then, mainly when a familiar face came up on the screen and attempted to hurt Keith. The close-ups on his teammate’s tear-streaked face made the ache in Lance’s chest unbearable. He hated that he was in those hallucinations.

Because Keith didn’t cry, he didn’t cower, he never begged. And here Lance saw him do all of these and more, saw Keith’s heart shatter with each swing he directed at a face that was supposed to be friendly.

The tears brought out the glow in these charming violet eyes, dilated pupils accentuating the trust and innocence that was about to be shattered. Not to mention how the tight-fitting suit clung to his muscled body. Lance felt anger sweep him of his feet when he realised that Keith was being marketed like some cheap whumpee written by a tween in a fanfic without paragraph breaks. It made his blood curdle in his veins.

“Lance, Keith is in cell 174, get going. Someone is coming to the closet.” Pidge sounded through the com, her voice a welcome distraction from his thoughts.

The proper game was on now.

Lance looked at his clock. 23:12. He had two hours to find Keith and get him out.

Red purred reassuringly in his head, and managed to partially soothe his erratic heartbeat.

Kosmo teleported them downstairs the second the closet door opened. That was good.

They landed in the middle of a narrow corridor without any nooks to hide in. That was bad.

“Pidge?”

“To your right, the cells are 70meters out.”

Lance sprinted in that direction, light on his feet and constantly glancing back. The corridor carried on, fluorescent light painting the walls a sickly colour.

Kosmo stayed close, brushing by his knees every few steps. His claws made a tapping sound on the concrete floor, it was oddly grounding. At least they were together here, right?

“There’s another supply closet three door down,” Pidge directed. “Someone is coming your way.”

“You said we were past the last patrol round!” Lance whisper-yelled into his com, hands already on the doorknob.

“Just hide!”

He got into the small room with Kosmo, the wolf’s breath audible in the silence. A set of steps passed by and disappeared. He waited another minute or so before going back out into the corridor.

Lance and Kosmo followed Pidge’s instructions through the seemingly unending maze. Who the hell would think using this layout was anyhow good?

The red dot of Keith’s biometric signature kept getting closer, and Lance felt his insides twisting and curling with every further step.

Kosmo yipped at his heel, hastening his pace despite Lance’s disapproval. They turned another corner before Pidge told them to, which could only mean that the wolf had caught a scent.

They were about to turn another corner when Lance noticed an open door. A stronger light was coming out of it, and he could see the back of a man inspecting something in his hands.

“I’m pretty sure it was a sword when this wimp fought...” he heard the man murmur before placing a dagger on a shelf. The familiar purple glow caught Lance’s eye.

He should get it. Time was ticking. It meant a lot to Keith. Time was ticking.

“Lance? What are you doing?” Pidge’s voice called him back from his thoughts.

“I’m getting Keith’s blade. Is there anyone else nearby?” He said without thinking.

“There’s no time!”

“Is there anyone nearby or just him?”

“Lance!” She yelled. “...just him,” she added after a few seconds of silence.

Lance glued himself to the wall beside the door, glancing over his shoulder into the room. The man still stood with his back turned and was looking over the weapons collection.

Slowly, Lance crept behind the man, contemplating his options.

Keith’s freedom was at stake.

A sickening crunch of bone was followed by a soft thump of the body falling to the ground. There were worse ways to die than a twisted neck. Lance didn’t dare look, though. He took Keith’s dagger, and another Marmora blade he found on a shelf. Even if the owner was long dead, these weapons didn’t belong here.

His eyes betrayed him when he was stepping over the body, and he saw the man’s wrinkled face staring at the ceiling with dead eyes. Demolishing ships was easier than...

Lance ran out of the room, and caught up to Kosmo, who was waiting patiently behind the corner.

“The third door to the right.” Pidge’s grim voice sounded in his ears. “Be careful, we have no idea what state he’s in.”

“I know,” Lance whispered back solemnly. His eyes had already found the door.

It had a small window, which he used to peek inside. The cell had a bedroll and a toilet and was lit by the same fluorescent lights as the corridor. Keith was slumped by the furthest wall, his limbs twitching every now and then.

He used Keith’s dagger to pry the lock open. Luxite was an amazing thing, really.

Keith looked up when the door squeaked open. His face was beaten up worse than Lance thought. It was purple in places, one of his eyes almost swollen shut and his lip busted and still faintly bleeding. Keith looked up at him with a restrained awe, which was almost instantly replaced by fear.

“No, please no,” he whispered, his hands twisted in his already dishevelled hair. “I was good, please not again...” he kept murmuring as he scrambled back, his back now straight against the wall.

“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” Lance tried. “Kosmo’s here?”

He gestured for the wolf to come in, his fur shining bright in the dim fluorescent light. Keith’s face flashed with recognition when Kosmo nudged his calloused hand with his nose.

“Kosmo’s gone, they took him away,” Keith argued, but his eyes softened a bit. Lance took it as a good sign.

“Lance, you need to get out of there.” Pidge reminded.

“Keith, we need to go now,” Lance whispered, crouching in front of him. He took a second to take Keith in. He was dressed in boxers and a torn t-shirt. His whole body was littered with so many bruises and cuts and scars that Lance had no time to marvel at how muscled the young man in front of him was. Well, maybe he did, a little.

“I don’t want to go out there, please.”

“No, no fighting anymore, Keith. We’re going home,” Lance tried to keep his voice soothing.

“Home?”

“Yes, Kosmo and me, we’re taking you home, okay?”

“I don’t have a home - they took it away.” Keith’s eyes were now brimming with tears.

“So we will build you a home wherever you’ll like, alright? With your mom and Kosmo, and it’ll have a garden and everything, but you have to come with me, alright?”

“How,” Keith shook his head, “how do I know you’re real?”

“You can feel Kosmo’s fur, right? And you see and hear me. We’ve really come for you, Keith.”

Lance extended a hand towards him, open and unarmed. “Trust me?”

Keith placed his hand in his, eyes shut and furrowed brows as if he expected something painful. Lance got up to his feet and tugged. Keith obeyed after a nudge from Kosmo.

“Let’s go, mullet,” Lance smiled.

“Go right and then left on the second intersection. The exit will be straight ahead.” Pidge supplied as they shut the door to Keith’s cell behind them.

Lace never let go of Keith’s hand as they made their way through the corridors. They moved slowly, and Keith kept stumbling and had to use the wall or Kosmo for support.

“I don’t want to fight, please,” he whimpered and collapsed to the ground. Lance dragged him up and helped him stand.

“You won’t fight, I’m here with you.”

Keith’s eyes kept scanning the walls, and Lance supposed he was trying to fight the hallucinations still present before his eyes.

“It’s reaching dangerous levels outside, hurry.” Pidge sounded unnerved.

Lance tried to throw Keith’s arm over his own neck to help but Keith recoiled so fast he almost slammed into a wall.

“Sorry,” Lance offered an apologetic smile before taking Keith by the hand once again. They resumed their way, though he could feel Keith’s wary and almost hostile haze drilling a hole in his back.

_Red, pick us up from the exit?_

**_Already on it._ **

They were at the last turn now. The exit was already visible not all too far from them. A sparkle of hope ignited itself in Lance’s gut. He tugged at Keith to go faster.

“Lance, there’s someone behind you!” Pidge called.

He turned back and saw a patrol of two people about to look their way. He let go of Keith’s hand to get his bayard.

“Go to the door,” he commanded.

The patrol looked their way, weapons drawn and shooting in an instant. Lance reciprocated, his beams narrowly missing the assailants. Keith was frozen in the middle of the corridor.

Kosmo acted on his own, grabbing Keith by the hand and teleporting them towards the door. It sent Keith to the ground.

Lance took a deep breath and steadied himself. He needed them to stop shooting. He aimed, counted to three in his mind and fired.. He got one of the two guards in the neck, body falling to the floor.

He _had to_ get Keith out.

Aiming again, he stepped backwards steadily, his feet shuffling slightly against the concrete floor. Shot.

He turned and ran with all his might, Keith and Kosmo were already at the door and he could feel Red waiting on the other side.

“Away!” He yelled, reading his blaster. Lance fired repeatedly, sending the door flying off its hinges.

He got Keith up from the floor where he was rocking back and forth in a feral position.

A white mist crept inside, flowing slowly onto the floor. Red’s eyes shone a bright yellow only a few meters from the door.

With some struggle, Lance took Keith’s wrist, pulling him along into the night. They had to get into the lion, stat.

Red caught them mid-step, just as the alarms started blaring, bright lights illuminating the corridors and the sides of the arena. One landed exactly on Red.

_Fuck, we gotta go._

Red needn’t be told twice. He took off with all of his speed and agility, avoiding the hastily mobilised artillery that fired at them from the walls.

Lance darted into the cockpit, leaving Keith to lay on the bay’s floor barely conscious, still crying. Kosmo didn’t look much better, but Lance had more pressing issues.

He helped Red manoeuvre among the lasers, rising high into the sky.

“We’re in the air, wormhole us out Pidge?” Lance pleaded; two fighter jets emerged on his six and nine. Both were trying to catch up, sending a flurry of beams and flames their way, but Lance kept pushing the throttle.

There was only static.

“Pidge?” He asked again.

“Can’t, there’s too much interference.”

“Fuck!” Lance sped into space, aiming for the Zeehan planet where a coalition ship was supposed to be waiting.

“This is the Red Lion hailing the Voltron Coalition, I need help!” Lance wailed into the com, probably busting Pidge’s eardrums in the process.

“Lance, calm down. They won’t hear you through the interference!” Pidge sounded through the comm.

“But you do!” Lance argued, then immediately hailed the Zeehan ship again.

“I’m testing new software, they don’t have it yet.” Pidge sighed. “Try to lose them, there should be an asteroid rain passing by.”

Kosmo squealed behind him, then started growling. Keith was still crying. Lance felt as if his heart would jump out of his throat where it’s been lodged since he saw Keith in the cell.

“Fuck,” Lance swore under his breath. He really should check what was going on in the back. A laser beam passed Red’s hull by centimetres. “Fuck!”

“Watch out, now,” Pidge advised, her voice ragged by the interference.

He steered towards the asteroids, praying for Red to help him navigate. They jumped and leapt through them and watched them collide and crumble all around them. An explosion rocked them forward and into one of the rocks. His computer crashed, leaving his with no scanners or communication. Pidge was gone.

Lance turned the lion, the controls sluggish and imprecise. He sighed and looked around. They had been hit right before the ship on their tail collided with an asteroid and it sent a shockwave towards them, damaging the systems. Or at least that was the last status report he could see before the main screen died.

They were just outside the asteroids. He could see some debris from the ships he managed to shoot down or that didn’t make it through the rocks. There were no bodies floating around, and it somehow made Lance feel better.

Most of the non-essential systems were down. He had no comms, no map, and no main thrusters, among others. He was duped here until the it all rebooted.

Keith mumbled something in the back, reminding Lance just how bad their situation was.

They were out in space, away from anything that might provide cover and with almost no manoeuvrability. If someone came after them, they were toast. But at least Lance had nothing keeping him from checking on his passengers.

He made his way to the back where Keith was still strewn across the floor, his lip still bleeding and his eyes wide open and delirious. His pupils were completely dilated, showing barely a hair of the violet irises. He looked beaten, tossing and shivering on the cold floor.

After another overall glance he noticed that Kosmo was no better, meaning that they’ve breathed in the goddamned fog from the forest.

Kosmo growled at him when he came nearer, tho Lance just stepped over him, not minding the snarl directed his way. Maybe some food and water would help the effects wear off faster.

He found a packet of dried meat he kept as a treat for himself and tossed the contents to Kosmo, then filled a plastic container with water from one of the pouches. He set it in front of the wolf and risked running a hand through his fur. The wolf was too engrossed in eating to notice.

He took another water pouch and moved towards Keith. He flinched away when Lance crouched beside him.

“Hey, you’re safe here,” Lance spoke.

There was no reply, so he shifted until he was in Keith’s vision. He smiled at him, trying to look as friendly and soothing as he could. Keith didn’t seem convinced.

Red purred in his head, encouraging him. He supposed Red was also trying to reach through whatever veil was over Keith’s mind.

Lance took a leap and grabbed Keith by the wrist, his other hand slowly working to unclench his fisted fingers while murmuring sweet nothings under his breath. Kosmo seemed to be faring better as he settled himself behind Lance’s back, his fur giving off a nice warmth. Magic space wolves, immune to toxins.

With a sigh, Lance pressed his lips to Keith’s knuckles. The hand loosened at that, so he kept doing it, now gently holding the other hand to his mouth. He refused to give it any thought.

“Red, can you check the communication system?” Lance looked towards the dead cockpit.

Down. Red sounded in his head, as usual, not really a voice but a feeling. It was an odd sensation each time it happened, but right now it was the only thing Lance could get and he hoped the lion could feel his gratitude through the bond.

There was a soft purr in response, much softer than he thought Red capable of. A scoff followed and Lance chuckled despite himself and the grim situation.

Keith’s hands loosened, fingers now twitching in the absence of tension. Lance looked down, trying to determine if it was safe to move him onto the bed.

The boy on the floor now looked frightened, lips moving without a voice and eyes opening and shutting constantly. A few shivers went through Keith’s body and beads of sweat started forming on his forehead.

Lance knew it was probably the withdrawal kicking in, the drug and poison in Keith’s body not yet metabolised completely. He returned to whispering assurances. The trembling wasn’t ceasing, and Lance could feel the skin under his palms heat up. Keith was soon running a fever that left him sweaty, trembling and still mostly catatonic in Lance’s arms.

Kosmo seemed fine already, but the wolf had only gotten a few puffs of the poisoned mist before they jumped into Red’s waiting hull. From how Pidge described it, the poison was awfully similar to the drug that was used on Keith, and Lance feared it was the exact same thing. And Keith had been repeatedly injected with it for who knows how long, judging by the marks on his neck and arms.

Lance decided that physical comfort was the only thing right now that could help soothe Keith. So, he scrambled to his knees and hoisted Keith up. He made his way towards the bed and settled down with Keith half leaning on his chest, his head against his own collarbone. He pulled a blanket over the boy’s shivering form, then gestured for Kosmo to join them.

It was a tight fit, all three of them on a small bed, but Keith’s trembles lessened. His eyes were shut now, but the breathing was less erratic and deeper. Lance moved the hair out of Keith’s face, caressing his furrowed brows in the process.

In any other circumstances, he would be ecstatic to have him in this position.

Lance had no idea how much time had passed, only knew that Red kept constantly updating him on the repairs: they had side thrusters back online (still not enough to actually move anywhere, but they could evade now), they had the tail cannon, paw mobility and the toilet was working again (would be great if Keith’s recovery included throwing up). Still no comms or map, though.

Red let out a frustrated purr, but focused his energy back into the fixing soon after. Lance moved his hand up and down the nearest wall hoping it would anyhow console the lion.

They all kept in silence disturbed only by their heavy breaths and Keith’s occasional whines. His fever was still too high for Lance’s liking.

The tshirt covering Keith’s chest was getting damp, the low quality material becoming slimy under his hands where Lance kept caressing his shoulder.

Keith gasped. He rose forwards, startling Kosmo. His hands gripped at the dark blanket covering him. He panted, still facing away.

“Keith, you’re safe now,” Lance cooed, his hand now rubbing soothing circles between Keith’s shoulder blades. “I’m here, you’re not alone.”

It pained him to see Keith like that, shaking and frightened with traces of embarrassment when his eyes became lucid enough to notice his own behaviour. First and foremost, Lance thought, he had to get him into a healing pod. Without it, Keith wouldn’t continue being, like... the future. And Lance was not about to let that happen.

“No, no, no...” Keith muttered, sitting up completely. “Please, don’t make me fight you, too...” he whispered, eyes full of fear.

“It’s alright, no more fighting,” Lance rested his hand at the small of Keith’s back and looked him in the eye. “This is real, you’re safe now.”

“No, they took me away, this is an illusion.”

“This is real, you’re free and safe now.” Lance’s gaze was unwavering.

Keith didn’t look at all convinced, his eyes darting around the hull. His fever was still quite high judging by the sweat on his forehead, but his eyes regained some of that beautiful violet that Lance wanted to get lost in.

Not now, Lance, he reprimanded himself.

“Where are we?” Keith asked, his voice still wary and apprehensive.

“In Red, he came back for you.”

“No, Red went away with the other lions,” Keith whispered, his trembling resuming and his consciousness seemed to be spiralling away with rapid breaths and clenched fists.

“He came back for you, I was just as surprised as you are,” Lance explained, his thumb caressing Keith’s back through the awful shirt. “And we got you back, you’re safe now.”

“You’re really here?” Keith’s voice was weak, the tiniest sliver of hope visible on his face. He raised his palm to rest it on Lance’s cheek, making the altean marks glow as Lance blushed.

Kosmo cuddled further into Keith’s side, the movement gaining attention.

“Kosmo? But they took you away weeks ago...” Keith’s other hand started absentmindedly petting the wolf as his brows furrowed in deep concentration, trying to discern reality from illusion. His other hand fell from Lance’s face, leaving the skin there to tingle.

“Red and I found all of you. Your mother is safe, too.”

“You found her? She’s alive?” Keith was now shaking and Lance couldn’t decipher whether it was a good or bad thing. He reached for the water pouch and presented it to Keith.

“Here, you’re sweating a lot. Drink up.”

“No,” Keith moved away like the water would bite him. “No.”

“It’s just water,” Lance waved his hand. “It’ll make it easier to recover.”

“No,” Keith insisted.

With a sigh, Lance poked the straw through the hole and took an exaggerated sip then opened his mouth to prove that he swallowed. “See? Just water.”

Keith grabbed at the pouch before Lance finished speaking, his expression now a mixture of wariness and desperation. He took it to mean that the pirates sneaked drugs in the food as well.

“Thanks, Lance.” Keith mumbled in between sips. Lance reached for another water pouch.

“Anything for you,” Lance smiled, offering the other one.

Keith looked at him warily, and lance took a sip from that one as well, a stifled laugh escaping his throat as he opened his mouth nice and wide. Keith drank that one in one go.

“We gotta get you out of these horrible clothes.” Lance mused. “They’re wet now.”

“But I don’t have anything else,” Keith pointed, his eyes still hazy, though looking far more present. “They took away the suit and everything.”

“I’ll give you something,” Lance got up from the bed and shuffled towards his bad. Keith’s cautious gaze never left his back. He rummaged through the bag, searching for the sweater he knew he’d put in there. In the meantime, he pulled a new pair of underwear, his favourite swatpants and a hairbrush.

“There you are,” he huffed when his fingers found the familiar soft knit. It brought back memories of home: cold autumn evenings spent on his family’s barbecues. And the thing must’ve been made with magic, because despite all the time it’s been worn and washed, it still fit Lance perfectly.

Lance got up and set the clothes on Keith’s lap with a soft smile.

“Change into these, okay?”

“Why?” Keith seemed to not fully comprehend what was going on around him, even though Lance knew he recognised him and at least partially remembered his life before... well. Still, acts of normal kindness seemed to fluster him. Lance shook his head at that.

“Because you’ll be cold, and the systems are mostly down so, we can’t really move now,” Lance admitted, though he couldn’t stop himself from looking up and down Keith’s body, examining his thin, muscled posture. Keith shouldn’t be thin, his mind supplied when something about the way he looked felt off. That was it.

“I’ll go to the cockpit, you change and get some sleep, okay buddy? You must be tired.” Lance crouch in front of Keith, hands resting on his bare knees. “I’ll get us to a Coalition Ship.”

Keith managed a nod, his head turned sideways, hair covering his face. Lance wrote it off to Keith not feeling comfortable being vulnerable.

He sat in the pilot chair and tapped at the screens, pulling up a status report. Systems were coming back to life at a steady pace, there were no signs of external damage.

Pidge must be worried sick, Lance thought. He looked at the communication log, hoping to see the green dot to appear and tell him they were back online. It didn’t comply.

Lance really wished right now that he knew anything about how to fix the non-mechanical issues on a ship. He could connect torn wires and replace screws just fine, but coding was impossible. This meant that he was stranded here until Red fixed everything with his own quintessence.

A quiet shuffling came from the back and Lance turned to catch a glance of Keith as he pulled the t-shirt over his head, the material sticking to his skin. Lance’s eyes slid over his chest and hips, noticing the scars and bruises that littered his ribs and abdomen. Even though he was far too thin, Lance couldn’t deny that Keith was well built, his muscles toned to perfection, creating the beautiful v line between his hips that lead... no.

Lance turned back abruptly, the motion catching Kosmo’s attention. The wolf padded over, his head bent to the side. His eyes were piercing him with a curious stare. Kosmo laid his chin on Lance’s lap, letting the man pet him.

Lance, himself, was trying to wipe the image of Keith’s toned body, illuminated by the LED lights of the hull from his mind. His face was flushed anyway, heat flowing under his skin from his chest up to the tips of his ears. Lance was officially a schoolgirl now, if anyone wondered.

Map. Red caught his attention.

Lance thanked him internally, looking at the navigation and plotting a course to the nearest coalition planet. Zeehan it was.

Main thrusters were still down along with the comms, but the side and positioning ones roared to life, pushing Red towards the planet much slower than any of them would want. But at least most of the systems should come back soon enough, they had to be patient until then.

Lance had actually fallen asleep in his chair, his neck bent uncomfortably against his chest. Kosmo went back to Keith, who was fast asleep on the bed, his limbs twitching every now and then. He was dreaming.

They have slept for a few hours. Main thrusters had come back to life and Red had taken the liberty to turn them on.

A scream echoed through the hull, the sound so torn and pathetic that Lance was sure whoever released it was about to die. He jumped off the chair and hurried to Keith, who now sat panting on the bed. His brow was furrowed and sweaty.

“Keith?”

“Lance?” Keith whispered, looking up.

“I’m here, you’re safe.” Lance whispered, taking Keith’s hand into his.

“You’re real,” Keith brought his other hand to cup Lance’s face. “You’re actually here.”

“Of course I am, mullet.” The nickname didn’t really fit anymore, but it made them both smile.

“Where are we?”

“On our way to Zeehan, the comms should be up any second now so we can ask them for a wormhole?” Lance mused.

“Can I, can I see?” Lance’s heart swelled at Keith meek voice. He extended a hand to help him stand.

“Come on, slowly,” Lance instructed. Keith gave him a bewildered stare. “You were catatonic a few hours ago, you may tumble over to the floor the second you stand up.” Lance deadpanned.

Keith didn’t answer, instead took the hand offered to him and got up, his knees weak, and all the bruises aching. The painkilling effects of the drug he was given were disappearing faster than the others. Lance placed a hand on the small of Keith’s back, steadying his wobbly legs.

Keith looked away. This really wasn’t an ideal situation for meeting Lance again... after all these years... He had wished for it to be different.

Lance looked at Keith, his eyes worried when he noticed just how baggy his own clothes were on Keith. The sweater hung loosely from his shoulders, barely clinging to the chest. Did they not feed him?

They reached the cockpit, and Lance helped Keith lean on the console. Red made a sound, the glee audible in their heads. They both smiled. The stars were barely streaks of light around them, their speed letting them get through space at a wonderful pace. They should reach Zeehan soon, everything would be good. They would call this the Bonding Moment 2.0 later and laugh.

Keith’s legs gave out, his body tumbling to the floor too fast for Lance to catch. Keith was seising again, his body and eyes unresponsive and Lance was at a loss of ideas. He fell to his knees, making sure to stabilise Keith’s head and not let him hurt himself on a corner. This was bad. Bad, bad, bad. The seizure lasted for maybe a minute, each second dragged out into its own eternity in Lance’s mind.

Keith didn’t open his eyes once the shaking stopped, but his breath was stable enough for Lance not to fear an immediate death. He picked Keith up and placed him on the bed once again, letting Kosmo monitor his breathing as he returned to his seat.

The comms came back an hour later, Pidge’s panicked voice shaking Lance from his stupor.

“Oh my god, Lance!”

“I’m here, we got banged up in the escape.” Lance explained. “We’re back online now.”

“I thought you were dead, oh god.” Pidge cried. “Are you alright?”

“Me and Kosmo are fine, Keith needs medical attention. He had a seizure, before that he was mostly shanking and asleep.” Lance offered.

“I’m opening you a wormhole, we need him checked out. From what I managed, the poison could be frying his brain by now.”

Lance’s heart dropped. He couldn’t lose Keith, not after all he went through to get him back.

He turned back to look at Keith’s sleeping form, only to catch him start seizing again.

“He’s seizing, Pidge! Let’s go.” He said through gritted teeth, red purring his readiness in his mind. “Kosmo, pin him down!”

“Opening a wormhole in 3... 2... 1...” Pidge said, her voice strained.

The wormhole opened, and Lance slammed the levers forward, full throttle forward.

Kosmo laid his full body on Keith, stabilising him enough not to fall off the bed.

They must’ve been further out than he thought, the trip through the wormhole much longer than he would like. The corridor was nothing but blue light and passing dots, Lance’s heart banging in his chest. Kosmo kept whining in the back, worried sounds making Lance’s head spin.

“I’m putting Red on auto,” Lance called to Pidge. “I need to go to Keith.”

“Okay, I’ll send a beacon.”

Lance was at Keith’s side in an instant, carresing his forehead and making sure he was breathing. He felt them exit the wormhole, and could feel Red following the beacon, his hull tilting for a second as they made a turn.

Keith got paler, the purple and yellow bruises on his skin stood out like ink stains on paper. Lance felt shivers travel up and down his own spine, the seizure not ceasing until they landed in a hangar.

It was Pidge who first boarded. Her red eyes lighting up when she saw Lance cuddled up to Keith on the bed.

He stood up and fell into her embrace as the medics took Keith away, Kosmo following the stretcher. His own tears flooded his eyes, nose running as he sobbed into Pidge’s shoulder. He felt all the pent-up stress overwhelm him. Lance fell to his knees and kept sobbing, Red’s purring not doing anything to soothe him.

Pidge cooed and whispered promises and praises into his ear, her small hand rubbing circles into his back.

Lance looked up and wiped his tears.

“Sorry, it’s just...” he trailed off.

“Hey, I know. But you found him. You found them all.”

“I just wanted him safe.”

They left Red’s hull and Lance was shown to his room, given time to gather himself.

After a few minutes he went to the bridge, too anxious to keep sitting alone. Everyone greeted him with undeserved respect. Like he was a hero or something. Lance didn’t feel like a hero. He was just Lance. Keith mattered now.

“How is he?” He asked Krolia, who greeted him with a tight hug. She looked better, not as pale though her eyes were puffy and worried. Her arm was in a sling, probably from the wound there not having healed properly. Everybody knew she got out of the pod far too soon.

“He’s in a healing pod.” She said simply. It didn’t answer any questions.

Krolia lead him towards the med bay, a few medics scurrying around and checking on Keith’s vitals.

The boy in question was in one of the pods, probably put in without any celebration, as Lance’s sweater was still draped over his chest. That couldn’t mean anything good, Lance’s heart clenched tighter than he thought possible.

Kosmo raised his head in a greeting but remained on his spot beneath the pod.

“Paladin,” one of the medics started, “do you know what drug was given to him? We can’t pinpoint the origin through the blood sample.”

“I don’t know,” Lance looked at his feet. He didn’t even change out of his flight suit. Wait.

He opened one of the compartments, three pills falling out onto his hand. He handed them to the medic.

“This is probably a weaker version of what he was given,” Lance spoke, but the medic had already turned away towards the weird apparatuses that stood in the room.

Lance looked at Keith’s face. His bruises were already healing, the purple slowly fading away.

“Thank you, Lance.” Krolia caught his attention. “For saving my son.”

“I wouldn’t be able to if Red didn’t come for me, really.”

“Lance, no one else could find us for months, you did it all in two weeks.” There was a weird look on her face when she trailed her gaze back and forth between him and Keith.

“We just followed Red’s bond to Keith. I only helped get him out of the cell.”

“You killed three men to get him out, Lance.”

“Don’t remind me!” He snapped, turning away. He did it so abruptly that something pressed into his back. “Oh,” he reached into the pouch on his back.

He took out the two Marmoran blades he killed a man for. Without a word he pressed them into Krolia’s chest, an expectant stare gracing his features.

He stomped off towards his room.

The next day, he woke up from his light sleep, and went straight towards Keith. No one greeted him there save for a medical droid keeping track of the patients.

“Good morning, Paladin, should I perform a medical scan? Your movement seems impaired.” Its electronic voice sounded through the soft beeping of other machines.

“No, I’m fine.”

Lance took a chair and sat by Keith’s pod, glancing up at his face every now and then. He lost himself in thought until Pidge came with food. His body was tense from the unergonomic position he was in, and he had to roll his shoulders.

“Hi,” she greeted, her face still frozen with worry. “Brought you some food.”

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”

“You gotta eat, Lance.” She patted his shoulder, setting the tray in his lap.

Pidge left the room with a sad expression on her features, her eyes meeting his once more before she turned a corner.

Lance nibbled at his breakfast, his mind occupied. He zoned out, the beeping and soft humm of the machines coaxing him further into his thoughts. He wondered how had it happened that he ended up as a farmer, after all that had happened. All of his friends, except for Shiro, were still in space. Chasing their dreams of becoming grand. And he was just, Lance. And how come was he the one to find Keith?

Of course, he would never say he was unhappy living with his family. There was something lacking, though. Perhaps it was the thirst for adventure, or maybe for recognition? It wasn’t that he had been forgotten, it was just that he was never praised for what he had done. Only Voltron. Or there were no questions about him at all, only about how he felt being associated with the technology magician Katie Holt, culinary expert and virtuoso Hunk Garret, or the legendary warrior Keith Kogane. No one had cared for who was or what wanted Lance McClain.

Perhaps it was the fact, which weighted him down more than anything else, that he could still be forgotten and overlooked. Even while being placed in the constant spotlight, he was still merely an add-on.

Pidge returned in the evening, her eyes tired, but becoming less worried when she looked over Keith’s chart, his vitals steadying, the toxin being slowly pushed out of his system.

“He should be out the day after tomorrow,” she spoke.

“I’m glad, he really looked horrible.”

“How, how did you know why Red came by?” She asked, the question evidently leaving her mouth before she could stop herself.

“Uh,” Lance looked towards Keith, “he gave off this sense of urgency, like the world would collapse if we didn’t head out now.”

“So, you just got in?”

“Kinda, I, I haven’t been sleeping well lately. It was probably the bond reactivating when Red started heading towards Earth,” Lance admitted. “My sister called the Garrison and they brought me rations and this suit. They told me you made it.”

“Yeah, I did. It was supposed to be a backup in case there was another war. It was meant for Keith, though.”

“Oh, sorry.” Lance felt his heart break once again. He looked at Pidge with a questioning look.

“We didn’t think you’d ever pilot anything again, after Allura.” Pidge had a look of quilt in her eye and it angered him.

“I know, y’all just went to do your stuff around the galaxy.”

“We didn’t mean to leave you behind, Lace, we just thought you wanted to be left alone.” She tried to put a hand on Lance’s shoulder but he shrugged it off.

“Sure.” Lace cut the conversation short, pointedly turning his head towards the pod. He heard Pidge leave soon after.

Lance startled when he looked at the clock. It was well later than he thought, and he could feel it when he rolled his shoulders.

He got up, his joints protesting at the sudden movement. He stood in front of Keith’s pod; the man’s face finally relaxed. His bruises were mostly gone, and his skin had more colour even through the bluish glass. He was still considerably thin, Lance’s sweater hanging loosely from his shoulders. But all that damage was easily fixed compared to the trauma Keith must have experienced.

Lance felt guilty for complaining. After all, he got out of the whole Voltron situation with barely any scars to show for it, his body and mind mostly unscathed. Everyone had it worse than him.

Hunk rebuilt his whole life, from being an engineer to being a master chef of the whole Coalition.

Pidge had to bear the, however temporary, loss of the most of her family, and still rose above all that to pursue her dreams.

Shiro had rightfully retired, double abduction by the Galra, torture from Haggar, his time as the Champion, being stuck in the Void, even death; all that taking its toll on his mind and body.

Keith went from the best pilot of the Garrison, through the leader of Voltron, through being a Blade, to being the very leader of the most effective war relief organisation, and then the abduction and torture.

Lance had briefly died, yes, but Allura had saved him barely a moment after his spirit left his body, and then she sacrificed herself for the sake of all realities. But Lance himself had barely a scar to show for the whole fiasco. His altean marks glowed briefly when he thought of his princess.

He was the only person to really lose someone to the war, he realised. But it wasn’t a gruesome death at the hand of a villain, rather a sacrifice and dispersion into pure quintessence. Lance couldn’t say it had really felt like a loss. Allura was still there, her determination and dreams fuelling the very worlds beneath his feet. It was all Allura and Lance wouldn’t dare take her down from the pedestal.

He looked up at Keith once again, hoping for a sign of... something. All he got was a glimpse of his own bleary-eyed reflection. He forced his feet to carry him to bed.

It was a dreamless sleep, thankfully, and he woke rather rested. A commotion outside the door made him snap out of the sleepy haze and jump into the corridor. People were running towards the bridge, but no alarms blared, so they weren’t being attacked. If there was no threat, he would take his sweet time dressing up.

There was no sweet to the time he took, his apparel consisting of jeans and a t-shirt. He didn’t have time to pack any more clothes back on Earth.

Absentmindedly, he searched for Red in the back of his mind. His presence was there, a sturdy humm, but Lance could feel the focus was on Keith. He didn’t interrupt, instead making his way towards the hangar to clean up whatever mess he’d made in the past two weeks.

He got in through the door on top of Red’s head, the lion too busy with Keith to pay any attention to its surroundings.

Lance collected his things, whatever leftover food he had, the blanket and pillow, a stray sock. The bayard was back in its storage compartment.

He got out, left his belongings in his room, briefly noticing that his helmet and suit were gone, then returned with a few packs of dedicated wet wipes and a trash bag.

Cleaning always let him clear his mind, even though he hated the chore. The automatic movements set a pace to his thoughts, ordering small breaks when he had to move from one thing to another. Polishing the main console was almost nostalgic, the find memories at all their adventures resurfacing and pulsing through the bond. Maybe Red would feel appreciated this way, if he knew that Lance remembered most of it.

The lion remained silent, but lowered his head for Lance to exit once he finished the cleaning. He gave it a pat on the nose, then hugged as much of the muzzle as he could.

“Thank you,” he whispered, “for saving Keith.”

He left the hangar feeling a bit lighter.

He stopped by Keith’s pod, the small screen showing green letters and symbols. 94% was the report on the healing progress.

Keith would be out the next morning. He knew, though, that the medics wanted to do a manual scan after the pod released him, track any permanent damage to his brain.

Lance wandered to the bridge, a few familiar silhouettes standing in the middle. The morning commotion explained itself in the form of Kollivan.

“I understand, Kollivan. Really.” Krolia assured, her voice steady and pleasant on Lance’s ears.

“The Blade is glad you were both recovered,” Kollivan said after clearing his throat.

Lance entered the room.

“Hi, long time no see!” A smile draped itself over his face.

“Hello, Lance, how’s Earth?”

“Peaceful as ever, I’ll be returning soon.” Lance smiled. “How is the Blade doing?”

“We were relieved to learn Keith had been recovered. The Red Lion truly has a bond to him.”

The words cut through Lance like a luxite dagger. He covered the sting with a polite laugh. “He sure does! You should’ve seen him snatch Keith almost mid-step when we were leaving this god-forsaken arena.”

“I’m sure it was spectacular.” Kollivan’s voice was emotionless and steady as ever.

They parted after exchanging another set of customary pleasantries for the sake of good interstellar relations. Lance’s mind was mostly occupied with Keith the whole time, and Kollivan seemed to release a sigh once they bid each other goodbye.

Lance stood on the bridge, the echo of Kollivan’s footsteps disappearing behind a corner. He looked around to see that Krolia had disappeared, probably to check on Keith and Pidge was nowhere to be found.

He caught the attention of a woman working in transport logistics and asked her if there was any way to get back to Earth soon. She looked at him weirdly, wasn’t the famed red lion stationed in one of their hangars? Lance cut the conversation short, and she sent him a pass for an earth-bound cargo ship that would stop by their ship tomorrow evening.

With the ticket saved into his phone, Lance made his way towards the med bay. His steps made soft sounds on the metal floor, and echoed off the barren walls. The short distance disappeared before his head was lost to any further thoughts.

He came in right as the medics were lowering Keith onto a bed under Krolia’s scrutiny and murmured remarks. She looked worried, and Lance moved to put a (thankfully welcomed) hand on her shoulder.

She looked at him with a soft smile, the purple marks on her cheeks bending with the movement. Her clothes were in their usual impeccable state, though they didn’t fit as well as they used to, thus giving her a worn-out look.

“He’s doing fine, Lance,” she said. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Krolia, really,” Lance smiled his best smile, “that’s what friends are for.”

She looked at him with a hesitation Lance pretended not to notice. She didn’t say anything further, instead looking back to Keith’s sleeping form, an IV attached to his arm.

“By the way,” Lance hated the silence, “how are you holding up?”

“Huh?”

“When I found you, you weren’t looking so hot,” Lance looked her over, the unusual lack of muscle on her turning out to be rather bothering to his eyes.

“I was feeling rather cold then, yes.” She deadpanned and Lance couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his throat. “You meant something else, didn’t you?”

“Feeling hot also means feeling well and being healthy.” Lance explained, the smile still playing on his lips. “But yeah, you were malnourished and bleeding, I wanted to know how are you feeling.”

“Warm,” she said, her voice level but the sparkle of laughter in her eyes told him she was joking. “I’m much better now, still gotta gain some weight.”

“That’s good, you should visit sometime, my mom wouldn’t let you leave hungry.” It was perhaps the first honest smile today.

“Of course,” she said. Lance knew she wouldn’t take him up on the offer. The way she seemed uneasy around him was weirding him out. Her gaze once again trailed between him and Keith as if there were some words left unspoken.

He suddenly felt out of place. He told Krolia that he was glad everything turned out well, then turned on his heel and left the room to visit the hangar again.

Red was still busy, his consciousness pulling at Keith. The particle barrier lowered as he approached.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Lance told the lion. “It would be nice if you waited until Keith came down to talk to you, I’m sure he missed you.”

 ** _Yes._** He replied.

“I’ll come say goodbye before I head out.”

Lance woke up in his clothes. Shoes still fastened on his feet. He could feel how sweaty and gross his socks were, the wet warmth only powered further by the tightness of his shoes.

Eugh. He took all his clothes of on the way to the shower, discarding them as he went. He felt soggy and sticky until the hot water tumbled over his skin, taking away most of any feelings he had. The beautiful numbness disguised as calm settled in his mind, worry flowing away with the water. He took his time, basking in the flowing warmth, the shower echoing off the walls and letting him completely lose himself in the sound.

He got out eventually, mostly because a robotic voice told him he was using more than the prescribed amount of hot water. Drying off, he noticed that he’d left the bathroom door slightly ajar, and there was someone waiting in his room.

“Lance? I let myself in,” Krolia called from his room, dissolving the lump that had formed in his chest.

“Uhh,” Lance came out with a towel tightly wrapped around his hips, and went straight for his bag. “I’ll be right back.”

He dressed quickly, his hair still dripping wet when he emerged.

Krolia sat on his bed and played with her fingers and it was so unfitting of her character that Lance almost stumbled. She was still dressed in her Marmora suit, her hair brushed back and generally impeccable as always, yet there was something off.

“What brings you here?” He asked, taking a place beside her.

“I just wanted to thank you. You came for him.”

“Of course I did. I don’t need any thanks for that.”

“You didn’t have to come,” she looked him in the eye. “Why did you? After the past two years of him basically ignoring you?”

“He...” Lance’s throat clenched. “He ignored me?”

Krolia’s pained expression was all proof he needed. He had managed to reach him then, he was just ignored and sent astray. The room was spinning, and a pulsating headache added itself to the clenched throat and chest. His skin was scalding and freezing at the same time.

“Well,” Lance found his voice again. “I’m leaving in a few hours. Won’t bother any of you much longer.”

“It’s not that, he did miss you...”

Something snapped again.

“If he had missed me, he wouldn’t have ignored me, Krolia!” Lance yelled. “If I was such a bother, he could just tell me to screw off and really, it would’ve been fine! Better than plain ignoring me. After everything we’ve been through? After all the battles we fought? After he cradled me in his arms?!”

Lance basically pounced off the bed.

“But look at that, all of the people he hadn’t ignored had left him for dead! Left you for dead! Red came for me, I got him out, I helped him through the withdrawal when he was delirious and scared and trembling! Me, stupid useless Lance. Hadn’t I loved him I’d punch him.” He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes widening. He didn’t mean to say it out loud. That was supposed to stay hidden forever.

His mama had warned him, if you love two people you should choose the second. If he’d really loved Allura all the way back then, he wouldn’t have fallen for Keith.

But Keith wasn’t there. He was constantly busy with the Blade, then with helping Shiro, then the Blade again... Lance couldn’t hold it against him.

But Lance desperately needed someone to share his life with. He was homesick and lonely and the other paladins didn’t care much and Allura noticed. She liked, maybe loved, him. For himself. And he was earnest, he gave her all he had to offer and yearned to give her more. She had been there for him when no one else was. She deserved the world for it.

So, Lance tried to further her dream of peace and tranquility. He grew her favourite flowers and he helped with the diplomatic meetings and then he left the show to the others when he wasn’t needed. He still grew the flowers and gave talks at the garrison, and it was all for her.

Krolia’s pager beeped, pulling them both out of the shock.

“Keith is waking up.”

They darted through the ship towards him, loud steps echoing along their breaths and raging heartbeats. Metal doors slid open.

Krolia immediately went to Keith’s side, holding his hand on the bed. His eyes were twitching and he tested the grip of her hand. Lance stood by the door, trying to be as out of the way as possible.

Keith’s eyes opened, finally, confused but focused. His perfect violet irises traced the room, falling on the gathered people before a doctor snatched his attention to perform tests and ask questions. Lance had done his part.

Their eyes crossed as he was leaving, the brief contact leaving him breathless and on the verge of crying.

Lance had a ship to catch.

He realised he still had an hour when he reached the hangar. It was mostly deserted now, only some staff standing by the consoles. The robotic whirring of machinery was making the hangar probably the loudest place on the ship but Lance welcomed the distraction.

A thought came to his mind and, judging by the stares that turned his way, an epic facepalm ensued.

He ran towards reds cockpit, the lion greeting him with a groan.

“I’ll just use your comms, okay?” He spoke, scrambling in. “I’ll be out of your head in a minute.”

The lion didn’t seem to appreciate the pun, but let Lance turn the systems on. His fingers worked the keyboard and in a matter of second a video call popped up on the screen.

“Mom? Mom it’s Lance!” He smiled.

“Lance! I was so worried, the Garrison told us you were gone for a few days and we feared...” there were tears in her eyes.

“I’m alright, we just got a bit banged up in an asteroid rain,” Lance explained. “Everyone’s fine.”

“I knew you’d manage it, _mijo_. There’s nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it.”

Lance loved the way she was always able to lift his spirits.

“I’m going home, mom,” he smiled. “Keith is awake and... and he’s fine.”

“When will you get there? The kids can’t wait for more crazy space stories,” she laughed with him then, all worries gone.

“A week I guess, I’m all the way past Taujeer.”

“Good, good. Say hi to everyone from me and thank you, Red, for keeping him safe.”

Red startled at the address, giving off a surprised purr. There was tinge of guilt in it that Lance wrote off to him not being attentive enough.

“He says no problem,” Lance translated what had hopefully been the lions meaning. He patted the console affectionately.

“Well, get going Lance, don’t be late!”

“Bye, mom!”

Lance looked over the cockpit once again, making sure he had cleaned up everything, and that all systems were operational before diving into the mindspace.

_Hi._

**_I’m sorry._ **

**_Huh? For what?_ **

**_I hadn’t been there for you._ **

_Saving Keith was more important than anything else. Don’t worry._

**_Earth?_ **

_You don’t have to. Wait for Keith._

**_Okay._ **

_It was good to see you, Red. Stay safe out there, whatever you’re doing._

**_You too._ **

Lance shook off the eerie feeling the void gave him, got up and left the lion after a few more affectionate pats.

It was time to go.

**END OF ARC 1**

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, please comment and share your insight with me! Comments truly are the best, and they give me so much motivation to continue and to work on my wordsmanship.


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